Keeping Up with the Dueys: 2008

Halloween - Bob’s Finance Department once again won first place for their Halloween costumes in the City of Springfield employee costume contest.
Each member of Bob’s staff played characters in “Springfieldopoly,” for which they wrote a script and had the costume judging panel play the game. In this take-off of the Monopoly board game, they satirized Springfield finances, with Bob playing Mr. MoneyPenny, and other staff members playing characters such as Urban Renewal, FireStation #16, Upscale Housing, Street Round-Abouts, and WasteWater Treatment. Below left, Bob as Mr. MoneyPenny and below right, with all of his staff. Bob is in the far back on the right.

Summer Vacation. In August we flew to North Carolina, where we spent time with my sister Jean and her husband Ralph, who live in a beautiful place on Kerr Lake. It was great to see them, and to visit Robin, Glenn, and Meredith, as well as Kellie and her new hubby (Bubba B.) in South Hill, VA.

Below right, Cap'n Ralph took us boating on Kerr Lake which we thoroughly enjoyed. Below left, LJ dives into the Lake.

Below, cooling off in Kerr Lake before Cap'n Ralph boats us back to their home on the other side of the Lake.

LJ stayed with Aunt Jean for a few days, while Bob and I spent time in Raleigh, mainly shopping for condo property. But we did manage to see five of my six cousins -- and truly enjoyed our visits with them.
I didn’t get photos of our visits with cousins Steve and Helen, but we certainly enjoyed seeing everyone. Pictured below right, seated: Doward, Lottie, Joyce, Idaleen; standing Bonnie.

Everyone was so gracious to let us drop in on short notice and catch up a little with what was going on with them and their families. Much appreciated, and we hope to visit more in the future (and with more notice).

By mid-October we closed the deal on our condo purchase on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. I got to fly back for the paperwork. Jean generously trucked sleeping gear, camp chairs and other necessities to Raleigh, so we could stay in the condo together from Oct. 16-19.

Memory Lane. My sister and I went exploring some of our old Raleigh neighborhoods. On Bickett Blvd, Lottie lived from birth to 3 1/2 years old, and Jean lived most of her school years. The current resident/owner's mother owned the house from the 1960s until 2005 when she died. He was kind enough to let us tour inside and outside. He has expanded it quite a bit, but still a small bungalow, fine for him and his wife. But when Jean and I recalled how many of us lived there--Mama Bessie, Mother, Daddy, we three kids, and at various times uncles and some distant Poe cousins--we were a bit amazed by how small it was.

Below, Bicket Kitchen

Below, Bicket Living Room

Current owner--pictured below--on the front porch of what was once our home on Bicket Blvd; he graciously let us view inside where he had remodeled quite a bit, as well as backyard, basement (where Jean stealthily looked for her arrowhead collection, hidden there long ago) and the back deck (which he had added).

Jean and I did lots more retrospective sightseeing, including driving by our former house on Glascock Street, and the houses that have replaced the Halifax Court Apartments, which were razed sometime in 2000.We also rode by Aunt Lottie’s former residence (not my namesake, as I was named after Mama Poe, that is Lottie Victoria Poe), Mama Bessie’s Swain Street House, Florence Street rental where Jean and Mama Bessie spent a lot of time together, Five Points near Bicket Blvd, and we even confirmed that I had spotted the Blue Tower Restaurant on Hillsborough Street, where Vira and Bill frequently took us back in the day. (We also lived on Edenton Street in Raleigh and briefly in the small town of Knightdale just outside of Raleigh; in all our family lived in five places from my birth to midway into first grade. Then Halifax Apts. from grades 1-6; next out to the Northwest.)

Condo
Below, view of condo kitchen and living room area, showing one of the floor beds and one of the camp chairs that I am most grateful to Jean for providing, and she brought wine glasses too.

It was great to have this time with Jean, plus I could never have negotiated the condo security access, parking, etc., without her. It was all very modern and geared for the 30 somethings and younger we decided. She was my motivation to get all the things done that I needed to do, such as shopping for and ordering window treatments, ordering and arranging delivery of refrigerator (washer and dryer come with the place, but owners must buy their fridges) -- not as easy as you would think. But thanks to my sis we got ‘er done. Also, we discovered The Cup Cake Shoppe a block south of the condo, on Glenwood Avenue; enjoyed lunch at a funky place a block north and had dinner at the 42nd Street Oyster Bar, directly east of the condo parking garage.
Below, Lottie and Jean after a fun lunch; photo taken by our waiter.

Our first condo tenant moved in on Nov. 1 and signed a one-year lease. Bob and I are very happy with our new investment, and hope it will be a retirement home for us one of these days.

above, north end of pool, viewed from our fourth-floor unit balcony

above, south end of pool, with fireplace and barbecue; Club Room opens into this area.

above, Club Room is shared by all tenants, but can be reserved for special occasions.

LJ is Staying Busy
LJ had a very social summer. He spent most days, evenings and weekends with his friends, either at their places in town or at our place 10 miles outside of Springfield. For getaways, he spent a week with a friend in Idaho, his first solo airplane ride, without an airline escort. (When he flew by himself to visit Aunt Jean in 2006, he was still under 15 and had to have an airline escort, which greatly pleased Mom and disappointed LJ.) Mid-summer, he went camping with a couple buddies, and no adults, at Fall Creek, Oregon. LJ took this trip for granted, but it was a big event for Bob and me to let him go.

School Year. It is and will continue to be a busy school year for LJ. He has set a goal of getting straight A's throughout the year, and so far is meeting that. He is taking some tough classes too. At the end of this year, he will have earned 6 college credits in Pre-Calculus, which are transferable to any college (It’s a special program through his high school, -- we don’t pay any tuition -- a great deal). He is also in advanced placement American Lit, but no college credits for that.
His homecoming dance this year involved the crowd you see below. They went out to eat at the Olive Garden, met at the girls' homes and went from there. We are waiting on more photos from his date.

Currently, he has swim practice every day after school, as well as rehearsal for the winter play every other day. He actually turned down a major part in the fall play because of time restrictions. Every Friday, LJ wakes up at 5:45 a.m. to practice for the Thurston's boy/girl cabaret dance routine that a senior girl asked him to participate in with her.
He is also going through the interview process this week for a lifeguard job with two local pools in the Springfield public parks system. They are very flexible with student schedules, and he should be able to work two days a week when school is in session and then more over holidays and vacations. We hope it works out so he can work there next summer.
On Halloween, LJ was Homer.

Below, LJ in his celebratory Obama T-shirt. He and his friends stayed up until 3:00 in the morning making these so they could wear them to school on Nov. 5, 2008.