july 8 2012

Dear Everyone,


It has been super hot here in Chicago (and the Midwest) the last week, with temperatures in the low 100s several days in a row. It would be in the mid-80s at 7:30 in the morning. Today a ‘cold’ front moved in, and it is only about 85 now. Unfortunately, it appears that the air conditioner that runs the first floor of our house has been overstressed, and may be broken. At least it had the courtesy to wait until the weather got cooler.

Cindy’s friend Katrin, her husband Claas, and her son Lukas (age 15) stayed with us for several days at the end of June. I was at work while they were here, so I didn’t have a lot of interaction with them. After leaving us, they rented an RV to drive up to the forests of the Upper Peninsula for a week. They traded the RV for a car and have stopped in Niagara Falls and Boston on the way to Maine. Lobster is supposed to be very cheap this summer, good for them! Katrin did recommend the author Paul Auster, and I did get a book by him in her honor, called The Brooklyn Follies. It was pretty good. Lukas fell in love with Meeko (as any right thinking human being would). They have had guinea pigs, but never a dog. Of course, they live in Hamburg, and having a dog in the city can be difficult. Katrin also brought a couple of bottles of German wine, yet to be opened, and a bunch of German candy, mostly already eaten.

This last week was the fourth of July. I went to the annual dojo seminar on the fourth in honor of Sensei Toyoda (he died 7/4/2001), and then afterwards to Northmoor. It was so hot that we think a lot of people bailed out on the events there. We had the same delicious buffet that they have yearly, but we left before the fireworks. We did see a few on the way home - - and Nicola had seen some the night before in Oak Brook with her friends. Jasper had to get up at 5 AM for swimming, and I had work (although it was pretty slow) on Thursday. It was good to see Vanessa, Chris, Evelyn and Theo. I did get to run around in a giant hamster ball, which Cindy, Nicola, and Jasper found hilarious.

We have spent a lot of time watching sports on TV lately, with Euro Cup Soccer, the Olympic swim trials (Danny Thompson, a former Hinsdale Central senior, made 12th place in the 1500 meters; Danny is starting Stanford in the fall), and Wimbledon. I think Lucas will be disappointed in the final; he wanted Murray to win. Lucas has been in Colorado for the last two weeks, and from his conversations with Cindy I think he is enjoying his time there. They do some combination of digging and laboratory work, and the weekends are spent on other fun outdoor activities like white water rafting, camping and hiking. Of course, having a 4:1 female: male ratio is an additional benefit. I hope he takes some pictures.

Otherwise, little is happening. I read a book of poems by Charles Simic on Owen’s recommendation (Master of Disguise). This was good, but I am not patient enough to be a fan of poetry. Simic’s poems (at least in this collection) are all less than a page long. I don’t see the point in agonizing over whether some word or phrase is absolutely perfect. It’s the language equivalent of painting miniatures. Many of the poems are funny and sly. I am also reading Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone. It’s an interesting novel, a bit magic realist? Last night we watched a George Clooney movie, the Ides of March. It was a political non-thriller, and a bit over the top melodramatically. I would not recommend it.

By the way, I saw a beta version of the Tesla sedan (there is a 'dealer' in oak Brook).  Pretty cool car!

Love, H.