Graduation

After teaching Chemistry at Martinsville High, Parkersburg Catholic, Marrietta College, and of course Ohio University today is Mom's (aka Karen, Aunt Karen, and Grandma's) last day.

The die is cast, the grades are in, the decision on the borderline students has been made. There will be summer school for some, pomp and circumstance for others, but one teacher is taking her Periodic Tables with her to Cincinnati and preparing for grandchild number 5.

Congratulations on a job well done.

"Thus endth the lesson."

Quotes from The Untouchables are not usually seen on the EFB, but sometimes they work too well to avoid. :)

The full report: Indy/Notre Dame

An actual rare photo of the Golden Dome. Very few people

have ever had the intuitive foresight to take a picture of it, but Joe and I

are forward-thinking and idea-driven individuals, and are always

thinking "outside the box" in a new paradigm.

As most of you have probably read from Joe's blog post, the trip through Indiana was a great success, in more ways than one. He captured the race details in South Bend very well, and I hope everyone had a chance to read it. The rest of the weekend went just as well, so I'm posting here a few of the non-running details.

Back row, l-r: David, Susan, John, Matt.

Front row: cookie container, plates, utensils, glasses.

NOT PICTURED: Banana bread, cake.

I arrived in Indianapolis on Thursday evening, and rode with Gretchen back to West Lafayette. I finally got to meet the lovely Susan after all this time, and I hadn't seen David in more than seven years. Matt was at the house, and the three of us had a great dinner ("supper," in the midwest) that evening. A meal of chicken and mushrooms, rice, salad, and fruit were part of the evening's repast. Joe and Gretchen joked with Susan for having forgotten the cake she made at home, and with Matt for having eaten the loaf of banana bread, so for dessert we were treated to cookies made by certain Ely grandchildren. They were quite exquisite!

Matt had to be back in Chicago Friday morning ahead of a long trip to South Dakota for school, so Joe left around 8pm with Matt for the long drive west. I had a great conversation with David and Susan, and talked with Gretchen for a while after they left. It was a fun evening spent getting caught up with everyone.

Joe didn't get home until 3am or so, and I was tired, so neither one of us was up until after 8:30. After an oatmeal breakfast ("lunch," in the midwest), Joe and I were off to South Bend. First, though, we stopped over at David and Susan's house so I could meet Andrew, Nathan, and Berneice.
They are great kids, not shy at all, and seemed thrilled to have a stranger in their house to whom they could show off their toys and many costumes.


l-r: John, Nathan (or possibly Andrew), definitely Berneice, and Andrew (or possibly Nathan).

What a fantastic family, and how nice it is that they are finally all together again for good.

We paradoxically headed north to South Bend, and Joe was nice enough to put up with me getting all worked up over the great scenery along the way. ("Look, Joe! A barn!! And an open field! With grass everywhere!!!" "Yes, John, that's a barn. And that 'grass' is called 'wheat.'").

We were hungry for lunch ("dinner," in the midwest), so we stopped in Logansport, Indiana ("the city that means well") in a little hole-in-the-wall diner called "White House Burgers." The outside was dirty, the ceiling tiles were all warped (yes, ALL of them), but we went in more for the experience than for the food.

At least the plates and forks were clean, and the mustard was courtesy of Kroeger. I suspected that my "Diet Coke" was really "Diet Generic Cola courtesy of Kroeger," but I didn't make a big deal out of it.

In spite of the likely health code violations, the food was actually quite good. Two burgers and two Diet cokes, and the total bill was: $4.95. Yep, that's it. For everything. I think my tip of $1.05 probably went toward the health inspector's slush fund, but what the heck. It was well worth the stop, and we couldn't help but make the obvious comparisons to Tiny's Cafe.

We arrived in South Bend in the late afternoon, found the Race Expo at the College Football Hall of Fame, and got our race packets which included a t-shirt, timing chip, orange socks, and a poster. After driving the race course, we headed to the Notre Dame campus where we eventually met up with Dave Eichstadt. Dave was a great campus tour guide, and he was able to help us find Lyons Hall, which was one of Grandpa's dorms. The dorms were mostly empty ahead of the alumni weekend, so we were able to look around Lyons Hall in spite of it now being a "female-only" dorm. Dave called Amy to find out which room was Grandpa's and of course she knew: room 219. The young woman in charge was nice enough to get the key to that room, and she brought us upstairs and let us in. What a thrill to be in this exact same room again:

The tipped-back chair with the feet propped up is the classic Gene Ely pose, whether here in Lyons Hall, or in the famous Tack room at the farm.

Paying homage to "the pose," just five feet and 75 years away from the original location above

The "link" between the years is the radiator on the wall. The television set was NOT part of the original decor.

We continued the tour of the campus with Dave, including a visit to the new book store, which I understand has a couple of things with the Notre Dame logo on it for sale. After wandering through the book store for a while, we parted company, and Joe and I left to have dinner, then turned in for the night at the luxurious Knight's Inn Motel in South Bend ("Where is the concierge? I wish to reserve tickets to a show.").

The race on Saturday was of course a great success, as Joe described so well on his blog. Kate made the two-hour drive to campus with Mikey, so the added treat was getting to spend time with all three Eichstadts at Notre Dame after the race. Mikey just never stopped smiling, and he was quite comfortable around everyone. Dave and Kate are great parents.

Notre Dame 3, UCLA 1

We found a shady table where we could sit, and Mikey had a nice lunch of an orange-colored Gerber substance, possibly chicken and vegetables. We talked for an hour or so, then Dave and Kate had an alumni function to go to, so we said goodbye. Joe and I were amazed at the good fortune to have been able to see the three of them when we were there, a rare opportunity for the cousins/uncles to get together.

We then drove down to Carmel to visit Brian and Susan and the kids. It was my first visit to their house, in spite of the fact that they've lived there for the better part of ten years.

Carmel, Indiana: Quintessential suburbia



Brian barbecued some chicken, and Susan made corn-on-the-cob, potatoes, and a salad, and we spent a good part of the evening sitting on his backyard deck talking with each other and the various neighbors who dropped by. T.J. and John seem to attract the attention of several of the neighborhood kids, and they all came and went at various times, playing soccer in the yard, talking with us, throwing a ball to the dogs in a pick-up game of "fetch," etc. The late Norman Rockwell was off to the side capturing the whole thing on canvas.

Brian and I were up early for church on Sunday morning; Susan was going later with the kids, as T.J. was serving the 11:00 mass. I had a quick bowl of my special-blend oatmeal ("Now 50% blander!"), said goodbye to Susan, and we were off to church, and then straight to the airport. I got home at a decent hour Sunday afternoon, tired but basking in the glow of the trip.

It was that kind of weekend: not a minute was wasted, and every moment was rich with enjoyment. It was even better than I had thought it would be, and my ever-lasting thanks go to Joe, Gretchen, Susan and David, Kate and Dave Eichstadt, and Brian and Susan and kids for making it all so worthwhile.

Here are a few more photos from the weekend:


"Bunny," the beautiful Berneice Ely



We're here at the Heritage Sports Hall, just beneath the "E. Ely" on the wall of monogrammed athletes.


Joe mentioned the significance and impact that these simple four letters have on our family. Neither one of us had ever seen it before, so it was all very new and special. Just across the room from this "E. Ely," in exactly the same font and size, are the letters "J. Montana." All equal in the annals of Notre Dame athletics.

Joe standing outside the tunnel entrance where we would finish the race the next day. He is on the phone with Nathan, who is calling with vital news of a Cubs comeback win.

Proud Mom Kate and Mikey. I told you he never stopped smiling.







My smile here in no way means to make light of the tragic event of 1931, but as Joe pointed out, "Hey, we've all gotten over it."








I've known Susan for more than 20 years, and it occured to me as I look at this photo how little she has changed since 1987.



Proud Grandpa with his twins.

Off to Indy

The long-awaited trip is finally upon us!

As Joe has mentioned in his e-mails, I will be leaving San Diego early tomorrow morning for Indianapolis ahead of the big Sunburst Half Marathon in South Bend. We'll be wearing our Gene Ely shirts during the race on Saturday morning as we run through the neighborhoods near Notre Dame, finishing at the 50-yard line in the historic stadium on campus. It will be quite an event.

We will have plenty of photos to post up here, from before, during, and after the event, and from the entire weekend as well. I'll be in West Lafayette with the whole Ely family on Thursday night, then with Joe and David Eichstadt in South Bend Friday, racing on Saturday, then in Carmel with Brian and Susan and the kids after that. Back home Sunday afternoon.

The weekend will really zip by with everything going on, and I do wish I had more time to spend out there, but we will make the most of the 3.5 days we have. The added, unexpected treat will be seeing David Eichstadt (and maybe Kate and Mikey? Will they be there?) when he's in S.B. for his college reunion. It's all coming together perfectly, and I'm looking forward to a great trip no matter what the weather might bring us during the race.

So if the mood should strike you, feel free to wear your own Karen-made Gene Ely shirts on Saturday morning to join us as we honor our family Patriarch.



John

Nebraska Photo

This will come as quite a surprise to all of you, but I actually spent about 2 hours yesterday at an art fair here in Lafayette.

OK, now you are up off the floor.

This is an annual event in downtown Lafayette, with about 100 or more artists setting up, showing and selling their creations. It was a beautiful day here Saturday, so I went down, along with lots of other people.

I found myself attracted to the folks doing landscape photography. At one booth, I looked at the items the guy had hung up, then casually flipped through some of the other photos he had in a rack below.

When this one jumped out at me. I pulled it from the rack and then looked at his penciled title below the photo: "Nebraska". Oh my. The photo really pulled me in, in a way I have seldom seen.

I took it out, walked over to the photographer and chatted with him for about 15 minutes about the photo and his work. He was from Seattle now but used to drive across Nebraska regularly. He said he loved the light in Nebraska, as their is a lot more sunshine there than in Seattle. "But no mountains," I replied. He just smiled.

The scan here doesn't really do it justice. It is a B&W photo and the lines and the subject matter capture some of the spaciousness yet difficulty of rural Nebraska. And that speaks to me in many ways.

Enjoy...and if you ever visit my office, you can see the real deal.

Three Kids in the Tub

For the past week, David and Susan have been off on a cruise in the Carribean. They had long planned this outing and it is well-deserved, given all the time they've had apart.

One obvious implication of this involved us (primarily Gretchen) taking care of young Drew, Nathan and Berneice for the week. While tiring, we had a good time. The kids are fun and are so verbal and interesting and interested.

Of course, we had to bathe them and their pattern still is for everyone in the tub at once. It works for now and makes for quite an event at the end of the day. So, I had to capture the moment here...if I remember, this photo may well come out in the future!

Moving Day - Part 2

The moving van made it to Ohio and the movers are unloading as I write. It is a bit rainy this morning, so hopefully this won't complicate things. I spoke to dad last night he said that while driving off of Wedgewood Drive and out of town was emotional, all said, they did not have any complications with the final closing paperwork or inspections. I am sure it will take a few weeks for them to really unpack and settle in, especially with mom driving back and forth to OU until the school year ends.

The Chem Dept at OU held a retirement reception for Mom on May 16th. Many of her past and current peers and mentors over the last 20+ yrs celebrated with her and it sounded like a wonderful evening. Since OU is on quarters, I believe that the school year ends around June 13th, so this will be another big milestone for mom! Love - Amy

Moving Day!

After 31 years in Parkersburg, today is moving day for Mom and Dad. The movers are loading the van right now and should pull out around 3pm this afternoon. The last few months have certainly been an emotional journey for Mom and Dad. They held an open house last Saturday to celebrate friendships and had a wonderful time. It was a great way for them to say goodbye to many friends from the neighborhood, work, and church. Andrew and I also each made a final trip "home" in the last month. And yes, my Strawberry Shortcake doll collection is now safely stored in my own basement along with other assorted childhood treasures! Well, say a prayer for Mom and Dad today!! Love, Amy