I was a bit late in arriving at Karen and Joe’s new house in Kettering on Coke Avenue. Chris and Sarah had come over that Saturday afternoon of June 23, 2007, and watched Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt. Their original intention was to watch Rebecca but it was longer and would have made us later. Sarah prepared her snacks in the kitchen for the latter half of the movie while an unimpressed Chris and I finished watching it. Anyway, we all eventually arrived at the new place, where I was greeted by Joe cooking burgers in the driveway.
Ashleigh and Derek had been at Kings Island that afternoon and met up with me there. Mom, Bob, Bryan, and Erine were already there, too – but the latter three left shortly after my arrival as if I had offended them by my presence. Mom gave me a nice shirt as a belated Father’s Day gift. The entire family of Eds were present for the fiesta, although Joe, the homeowner, left before party’s end to take his brother Mike out for his birthday. Darlene, Jacob, and Zac were there, but Jacob left early, only to be stood up by a friend and long for a return to the afternoon’s proceedings. Diana, Tom, Debby, Mike, Tori, and little Brad comprised the Claude team. Our patriarch Grandpa Murphy was present and accounted for and enjoyed making the Cornhole circuit.
Derek squares off against Grandpa Murphy
Chris looks away and taps his foot into the ground after Ashleigh whups him
Baby Tori, sweet as sugar
Andrew knocks one of Charles pitches out of the park, while Zac makes lewd gestures with his bat
Abby enjoying her new digs
I ate lots of food. There were hamburgers, hotdogs, Mom’s Oriental salad, Susan’s famous bacon and tomato dip, Sarah’s great chicken dip, macaroni and cheese, s’mores pie, chocolate chip cookies, and soda pop. There was a pie on the stove with footprints in it, but it wasn’t for eating. Lots of good stuff. Although stuffed, Mom and I teamed up and taught the youngsters Ashleigh and Derek a lesson, after they were victorious in two games of cornhole. We subsequently pounded on Darlene and Diana as well. Many then gathered around the table for a game of Quiddler. I opted not to play so I could wander from the table to the garage and back again, treating everyone along the way to my wry sense of humor.
Kind ol’ Grandma and Ashleigh…
…but when no one is looking, she tries to strangle Toby
Maps…no…fish…no
The illuminating smile of Grandpa Murphy
Susan, Bev, and Charley prepare for Quiddler
The house itself was very nice, very homey. The walls were still bare but it already had that lived-in look with toys littering the floor. I posed for a nice photo with the Amstutz family in their new surroundings. In case you are wandering, I am painfully crouched, knees buckled, giving the illusion that I am a midget.
Intruder alert! Andrew, Joe, Karen, and Abby humor me
My gang was going to immediately reconvene at the Ascension festival, typically an annual tradition with me – but, alas, it began to rain. I dropped Mom off at Clancy’s where she met up with Bob, who had left Karen and Joe’s for a small class reunion they were holding there. Since I was in the area, I stopped by to visit Jackie who was at her Mom’s place before heading home to attempt to finish the film The Da Vinci Code without falling asleep. I failed.
I will defeat Ashleigh at cornhole, if it’s the last thing I do!
Oh, by the way, I think you might have the wrong address for Karen and Joe. It’s 10101 New Coke Lane.
Chris Tangeman
June 25th, 2007
“The Da Vinci Code” movie was a big disappointment for me too, but while I like “Shadow of Doubt,” I think “Rebecca” is my favorite Hitchcock movie of all time. The cinematography in that is, I think, some of the best….so I hope that you Chris and Sarah can get around to that another time…especially if it’s the Criterion version with all the extras!!
Peter
June 25th, 2007
Jim, Jan and Eric were there also, they came promptly at 4:00 but due to Eric’s game they had to leave by 5:00.
We also had lots of Fruit, a cake, and brownies to feast on.
Keep sending those family pictures from our get togethers, I love them.
Bev
June 30th, 2007