<p>What a wonderful thread…so pleased to read about the deep connection wildchild has with Penn both academically and now with his own dear friends and extensive network of fascinating characters…and wouldn’t all the ancestors be so very pleased! </p>
<p>We had some difficulty navigating around Duke last year because DS had four grandparents and I found that the trekking required up in bleachers etc was really too challenging including the walks uphill from parking to seating…</p>
<p>We were seated next to a family speaking Chinese during the outdoor ceremony. Swine Flu worries were big a year ago and Duke had baskets of “free” bottles of water and also baskets of anti-germ hand lotion for free at the gates which was a bit odd. Anyway, the couple next to me goes silent, and I finally noticed them staring at me. I had picked up the poor woman’s open water bottle and was swigging it down. (my open water bottle was at my feet.)<br>
errrrr. that was awkward. and more intimate than I meant to be with my neighbor.</p>
<p>MOWC, DS #2 and I spent four days in Nashville, my old hometown last week. We got vetted out by the Red Cross on Mother’s Day and went out to where the devastation in Bellevue near the Harpeth was the worst. The MOST shocking sights along street after street.<br>
Son was home with us four days before returning to Nashville. I must say it was both sad and wonderful to hear him say that he was “home about one day too long.” He is in Nashville for the summer. What a great town.</p>
<p>Before I came home…I spent a lot of time driving around Nashville and familiar places…and even spent time in Wmson County soaking up all the beauty of that countryside.</p>
Wonderful to read this!
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and the joyous outcome here on CC.
Hearty congrats to you and your son.
Enjoy!!</p>
<p>P.S. And congrats as well to roshke’s child and to any other “CC kids” who are graduating this season!</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. I won’t stop posting- I promise!<br>
He’s staying in Philadelphia for a couple of months working and has also been asked to do some freelance writing for a new newspaper that is starting up in Philadelphia. His thesis advisor is a well-know columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer (adjunct prof at Penn) and has been a good mentor. He’s steered some writing gigs my son’s way. </p>
<p>The immediate issue is that the dryer in his high-priced apartment is overheating and not working right. Normally not a problem to call the building for maintenance, except for the matter of the illegal Ragdoll cat that is in residence. Son is “tight” with one of the maintenance guys and usually gets him to do repairs for him since the guy won’t rat out the cat. We’ll see. I want that cat.</p>
<p>Wow, were we ever lucky. It is just miserable here today - chilly and pouring rain. They hold the graduation outdoors in any weather with the exception of truly threatening thunderstorms etc. It would have been a nightmare, especially with all the older relatives in our party.</p>
<p>^^ I know. I was picturing everyone huddling under the overhang at the stadium if it had rained, and all the grads sitting down there getting soaked. As for the elderly people, I was also thinking how impossible it would have been to get any of the grandparents there. Although- my mother could have been down in “wheelchair row” right down on the field! I was thinking about trying to score a wheelchair for myself and my hamstring! Climbing back down from our seats was a little dicey for me.</p>
<p>Apparently, Huntsman gave pretty much identical speeches at UPenn and U of Utah this year, which I found kind of funny.</p>
<p>Huge congrats to WildChild et al! </p>
<p>On another note, I’m totally shocked that you were able to make reservations only a week in advance–my parents made theirs around 2 weeks in advance and that was still limiting. I guess that’s one of the advantages of going to school in a large city.</p>
