The Curtis Clan - Summer 2020
Summer Solstice to Fall Equinox
The Summer Solstice (Longest Day) started just a few days short of our family COVID Day 100. By that point marking the passage of time in days no longer made much sense as COVID wasn't going away magically with the heat there were signs of things getting worse. Still summer began with hopes of returning to a semblance of normal with the coming school year still seemed possible.
Father's Day
It was a great Father's Day feeding Randy's persistent nostalgic tendencies with gift of some retro t-shirts sporting obsolete St. Louis brands (Naugles, Shakey's, TWA); a dinner pick of Imo's pizza (mushroom) and salad with the House dressing and a quality western for the whole family: Unforgiven, the 1992 Oscar winner with Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman. Other family film nights for the quarter included: Kill Bill 2 (with Cate); finishing the Mandalorian Season 1 (a Western in Star Wars props); The Great Escape (a dad birthday choice); Mystic Pizza; Umbrella Academy Season 2; Spiderman Homecoming and Spiderman Far From Home (Jane Birthday choice); Animal House and While You Were Sleeping (mom birthday choices).
|
Randy in the "Woods" behind his childhood home (the ~5.6-acre Oak Haven Park) while Cate finished up her Geocache class
|
|
July
| 26 June - the US normal |
2 July - what a difference a week makes |
|
|
After considering it for the last year or two, Jane decided that she would go out for the cross-country team her Senior year and she started training for it in late May. She hadn't run since the 1 mile Read, Write and Run in 2013 in grade school (and didn't really prepare for that either or go out for the Girls on the Run events). Her XC goals are modest: be healthier in general and be able to participate in 5 K fun runs afterwards. Despite feeling somewhat limited with mild asthma and lung capacity she has demonstrated a tenacious desire to improve a little bit every day.
|
Jane on the run
|
|
|
Jane show Pepper a Little Tykes playset up for grabs like the one she and Cate had in our living room for a couple years.
|
|
Summer also brought a thawing in our family isolation as we hosted or attended small outdoor gatherings with others keeping a social distance between groups of COVID family bubbles. First up was an evening of desert on our driveway with Amy and Alvan newly returned from Florida, several months later than originally planned and six months since we last saw them during the holidays. This was followed by other friends (Todd, Elisabeth and Maria) and neighbors (Kennedys, Rugers, John). Long overdue connections and it was nice not to have to spend any $ to go anywhere. We weren't 100% comfortable with the idea and were hopefully it wasn't a horrible idea (haunted a few dreams before and after).
|
At the A Sages pool deck outside of their condo with Bishop Mark
|
|
These controlled backyard socializing would also lead to the closing of favorite restaurant/bar in the coming months. The franchisees closings (i.e. Blaze Pizza in Richmond Heights and McDonald's in Rock Hill) were a bummer but Cousin Hugo's (https://www.cousinhugos.com/) closing in early September felt like a bigger loss. A Maplewood bar at the historic cross roads of commuter lines and that has been open since 1938, it was located on the other side of the Deer Creek boundary with Webster Groves, to take advantage of looser laws. WG still requires an establishment to sell more food than booze to get a license, thinking that seemed well founded during the holdup/double murder that took place at Hugo's five decades earlier. Hugo's was a long local favorite of the community, particularly with neighbors and the Devil Dogs on occasion (Britt: "I'll have the cheesecake." Waitress: "We have cheesecake? Hmmm, what do you know.". Lesson if the wait staff expresses surprise at your order, change your order). Randy passed by it daily to and from Metro link ride on his commute to work and had a great deal of affection for the place (modest bar food at modest prices). Even so, he hadn't visited in years as it like my other local favorite watering holes (e.g., The Train Wreck, McLain's, Weber's). Visiting them weekly after work, playing volleyball or hockey game was part of a distant past that lapsed with the domestication that comes from having a family.
|
|
We celebrated Independence Day weekend watching the musical Hamilton as a family, along with most the rest of the Disney Plus subscribers. The women all loved it and with Bethany being particularly taken with Jonathon Groff King George III You'll Be Back
Birthday - palooza
|
B's Favorite Birthday Card Ever
|
|
Summer is the start 6 weeks of greater family birthdays, including 3 of the 4 Curti. Larger gatherings were out but smaller ones on the driveway worked including a cake for Alvan's 73rd on July 10th with the Curti and the A Sages.
|
Gral's Bday gathering
|
|
|
Gral prepares to blow out the one candle (no blowing on food that others will eat this year)
|
|
|
Going to McDonalds for French Fries
|
|
In early July came the news that Bethany's Uncle in Pittsburgh tested positive for COVID, despite being especially careful, followed by her Aunt a couple weeks later. Not the worst cases but severe fatigue that lasted a fortnight, mixed with headaches or back pain, along with lesser levels of high temperatures and cough. We were relieved it never got to serious levels and dissipated with time.
|
Bethany and Cate sorting through the sizable amount of inherited jewelry treasures from Randy's family
|
|
|
Jane popped out after jewelry sorting
|
|
|
Gussie considering squirrel pie for dinner
|
|
|
School Choice 2020
|
|
|
Windmill blades passing through Tuxedo Park Birthday foreshadowing?
|
|
| Catered seafood and chicken paella |
Maria Higga's 50th Birthday gathering |
|
|
| Randy showing off his new hand stitched belt with St. Louis landmarks from the Sign of the Arrow courtesy of the President of the Board |
The dogs wishing Randy Happy Birthday before taking him for a morning walk. |
|
|
July ended with the Curti hosting a college friend Brad and his son Jay en route to a weeklong stay at Estes Park (St. Louis is roughly half way). Before you say WTF you let people from the DC area stay with you during COVID quarantining? this was our first thought too when it came up until we remembered having a second house and wouldn't need them to pitch a tent in the back yard. The first night we enjoyed Imo's pizza, toasted raviolis and salad with them.
|
IMO'S!!!
|
|
A day off including Bloody Marys in the garage followed by a trip to the Zoo in separate cars (Visiting the Rivers Edge, Red Rocks and the outdoor bird exhibits ending with the Cypress Swamp in the 1904 Flight Cage).
| At the River's Edge |
Cypress Swamp in the 1904 Flight Cage |
|
|
| Bald Eagle - Endangered Species Act worked |
Let's Save the Snot Otter too! |
|
|
Jane joined us for House of India dinner (she had Lifeguard training during the day). We walked as a group the 1.3 miles to Rock Hill Frozen Custard Company to get a treat and back again without any treats as they closed the walk up and they wouldn't let us walk through the drive through. We came back and drove up.
|
Rock Hill Frozen Custard
|
|
I got a Provisional Ballot and you didn't
Bethany and I went up to the Webster Groves Public Library at 10 am, as our normal polling spot of the Methodist Church is closed again for COVID 19. After a pleasant wait in the fabulous weather (the 60s on a sunny day in August?). They scanned in my driver's license and then told me I had already voted at 7:54 am, to which I replied, no I didn't. This exchange was repeated a couple times during which Bethany cast suspicious look my way questioning that perhaps in a fit of early senility I already did vote but forgot. Anyway, they let her vote and sent me to over to the two election poll managers (one Republican and one Democrat).
Both Poll managers expressed disbelief that this could happen and that neither had seen this happen before in their experience. They had me go stand in the corner away from all the good people while they called it in (to be honest it wasn't the first-time authorities have had me standing in a corner). After 20 minutes or so, evidently it was a morning of many lessor election frustrations, someone at County Election headquarters answered the phone and talked them through the process of issuing a Provisional Ballot, which they had but evidently neither had ever filled out before. I was somewhat surprised given how many times I've heard the phrase "Provisional Ballot" relating to elections but then again this was Webster Groves and not Florida, Louisiana, Chicago or some other population known for election deceit. I filled in my paper ballot and Provisional Ballot envelope with a number to call later to see if my vote actually took.
|
Bethany in line to vote
|
|
I could view this in a couple of ways:
1) the system worked the way it supposed to, a mistake was made and readily caught
OR
2) this is the leading edge of the vast voting fraud conspiracy that will destroy our elections being perpetrated by the dirty rotten (pick one): commie, pinko reds who hate Democracy and Capitalism; New World hackers working to destroy America; the opposing political party that seeks to subvert the true will of the people (that are also idiots and hate America).
I'm inclined to think the former and that one of the poll workers accidently picked the other Curtis family in the 700 block of Tuxedo. The mistake wasn't readily noticed as no one is trying to get to close anyone else or the screens that people have been breathing on all day. This scenario might also be the result of election fraud probing by the son of the "other" Curtis family. He's a classmate of the girls and a known political troublemaker as evidenced by his behavior at the Model UN sessions, where he has drafted resolutions to "take over the World" on more than one occasion. A simple jest of a checky, youth or a declaration of pure Machiavellian intent? One wonders.
It would over a month to get a hold of someone at the County Board of Elections to confirm that someone had indeed signed their name for account but assured me that my vote counted (which likely would be the response I'd get no matter what: Why yes sir, your vote counted…).
|
Randy in Corner of Shame by himself (with no Gropup W bench to sit on and make friends)
|
|
Jane's 18th Birthday
Jane officially became an offical "adult" with all the fanfare 2020 allowed.
The dogs met her with Birthday greetings during her morning run, practicing for Cross County.
Bethany did a photo shoot in front of the WG City Hall, when Jane was sending off a definite young Leslie Knope vibe ("The best prize life has to offer is a chance to work hard at work worth doing," Leslie quotes Theodore Roosevelt at the finale of Parks and Rec).
In the afternoon we hosted another driveway gathering of St. Louis Sages with the 4 Shaws, VanGwenJoe and Gramy
| Jane and the Shaws |
Jane, VanGwenJoe, and Sam |
|
|
Jane developed a Kahoot quiz on how well we knew her. Cate won with a score of 34 out of 40 followed by Bethany (28) and Randy (26)
|
Jane's Kahoot Quiz throwing shade at Gaslight
|
|
| A red jeep with white soft top as she asked for (Dad has the irony of Aladden's Genie) |
Lifeguard waist pouch, visor and whistle |
|
|
The next day we went to the bank and got her a checking account, debit card and a credit card. She also exercised one of her new adulthood privileges and bought her own pet beta fish: Bruce.
Bethany's 50th Birthday
Just over a week later Bethany turned 50 with limited pomp as well but her family did their best to mark the occasion. A few months out, it became clear that COVID social distancing would not allow the plan to hold a gathering on her birthday at the Tuxedo Park Bed and Breakfast wasn't going to work with people coming from all over.
She awoke a Townie Sage caper of a couple hundred pin wheels festively planted in the front yard. A festive and cheerful sight, we left them up as it brought happiness to so many of our neighbors walking by. With it being the stagnant growth time of the year, we were able to leave them up for a couple months without looking shabby.
|
Pinwheels Prank - 1 for every Season of her life
|
|
|
Birthday Queen and her princessess
|
|
|
A young neighbor and his bear enjoyng the pinwheels a month latter
|
|
Jane organized a family tea in the early afternoon and along with crowns to mark the occasion.
|
A royal Birthday Tea
|
|
For a few hours in the afternoon, the Townie Sages did a Family Drop in on the driveway, including the A Sages, the WW Sages, the St. Peter's Sages and the Shaws.
|
Driveway Sage Gathering
|
|
After considering a number of places to eat dinner, none of which sounded that good, the girls got a ridiculous amount of McDonald's French fries to snack on before for settling to watch 1995's While Your Sleeping and have cake.
|
French Fries for Dinner? YES!
|
|
Earlier in the day a friend reminded Randy of a mid-1990s conservation: I doubt you'd remember this conversation. As a newish single person, you spent a weekend in TX with us while traveling for work. You expressed how you'd like to find a partner. "What are you looking for?" I asked. "Someone that will challenge my bs & looks like Sandra Bullock." Winning I definitely got what I wanted (but wouldn't mind a little less "challenging of my BS" though.)
|
Pizza run
|
|
The following weekend we participated in a drive-by parade for a neighbor turning 19. The girls had such fun siting on the trunk lid of the Sebring convertible we drove around the block 3 times to send on birthday greetings and practice their parade waves.
| The Curti wish you a Happy Birthday |
elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist, wrist |
|
|
The last weekend of summer (as per the educational seasons), Jane decided she needed to go kayaking, so she and Randy loaded it up in the Sebring and headed off to Creve Coeur Lake. The lake was packed with St. Louisans looking for something to do and the line to rent kayaks and canoes was very long and tightly packed, giving Randy good reasons to find a quiet spot under a tree in the shade away from everyone else while Jane paddled.
| A convertible makes hauling the kayak supper easy |
On Creve Coeur Lake |
|
|
The following day, Cate's wish to get out of the house had the merest of plans: Head East. She and Randy found themselves on Route 3 in Illinois heading up the River Road hardly stopping over COVID concerns but a topless ride on a beautiful day to Pere Marquette Lodge was near adventure enough.
| The Mississippi at Pere Marquette SP |
Heading south on the Great River Road (IL 3) |
|
|
WG High School 2020 Begins
The start of the school yard pictures happened as normal as Jane started her Senior year and Cate her Junior year.
| 1st Day of School 2020-2021 |
Cate's starts 11th Grade |
|
|
| Jane's 1st Day school 2007 |
Jane's 1st Day school 2020 |
|
|
Little else was normal as the WGSD was virtual for everyone, at least through 23 October and the girl's classrooms were their desks set up in their rooms. The also compressed the year classes into a semester and semester classes into a quarter figuring fewer but longer classes would be better. As such, instead of 7 "hour" classes, they had 4 classes. Jane's first semester were all college level/AP classes (English, French 6, Calculus, Game Theory). Cate schedule (Honors History and English, Philosophy, and Latin 3). Sometimes the dogs would sit in on the girl's classes, particularly Pepper, which cut back on her recreational barking at the people walking by the house to the appreciation of the rest of the family.
| Jane's desk set up |
Cate's reading for Distant learning |
|
|
At the end of August, Jane and Randy made a road trip mini vacation to Innsbrook in the convertible as she was life guarding on Lake Alpine early the next morning, her last gig for the summer triathlon practice swims. We stayed with VanGwenJoe overnight and enjoyed an evening of story swapping of old times on opposite sides of the room.
|
Sunrise on Lake Alpine Lifeguarding
|
|
|
Watching the Gilmore Girls (again)
|
|
|
Jane & Pepper among the MoPAC ROW "weeds"
|
|
In mid-September, Yuengling announced a distribution partnership to expand across the US. I've been a big fan of their Black and Tan beers since discovering its caramelly dark goodness at a modest price during my Staff College summer at Fort Belvoir in Metro DC in 1994. The Pottsville, PA brewery had a very limited distribution at the time and wasn't found too far beyond Pennsylvania and it took effort to have it.
The distribution deal made me a bit sad to be honest, with the promise of easy access. I remember in the 1970s and the tales of other people's parent making the road trip to Colorado to get Coors beer and bringing it home in their station wagons in an act of minor civil disobedience of exceeding the amount of alcohol one could bring across state lines. In the 1980s when I was in college there was something exotic about going new places and trying a new beer even if it was only Iowa's Falls City lager but at a dollar a 6-pack, Hell Yeah!
In the late 1980s I became enamored with Shiner Bock from Texas as a couple Rolla pals went to grad school at UT-Austin. It became a real treat to get a 6 or 12 pack or maybe s case from a friend as they made a trip to Texas, or later on when Shiner's distribution reached Kansas and visits from Kansas City friends included some Shiner in the nineties.
In the early 1990s. I started brewing my own in order to get a darker beer than the myriad of pilsners available at Schnucks (i.e., variations on a narrow theme). When the Mormons bought Walgreens and they stopped selling liquor, and I could no longer readily get my go to pilsner Schaefer Light except on trips out of state and resorted to drinking mass market beers as long as they weren't from Pestalozzi Street (boycotting AB came from them not sponsoring charity events at my fraternity but was solidified when Auggie III sold the Cardinals).
For the last two decades my big treat for agreeing to go with Bethany to visit her alma mater Washington and Jefferson in Washington, PA again was to stop by Cappelli's and load up on cases of Schaefer Light and Yuengling Black-and-Tan. When we run out it was definitely cause for another trip out to Western Pennsylvania (also getting to see her beloved Aunt and Uncle in Pittsburgh but saying that makes me sound a bit effeminate and beer drinking is manly). Socking up Toyota Sienna in 2007 en route to Toronto had us breaking federal laws in two countries as we accidently bootlegged the beer into Canada and then back into the US, though we remembered it was there that time. A minivan with toddlers provided a great cover to our sinful smuggling.
Mass distribution is OK but it takes away the adventure and exoticness of the beer. It's always been more than just the taste and now that will be gone. The mildly forbidden ambrosia that is Schaefer Light will still provide me that something extra and a "manly" reason for wanting to return regularly to Western PA.
| Leaving Cappelli's in 2005 (Note two 1/2 gallon jars of pickled eggs) |
"The Beer to have when having more than one" |
|
|
|
Lord Zetland is so judgy
|
|
On a Saturday, in mid-September, Cate helped Randy tuckpoint the chimney. Not a particularly difficult task but a long-delayed project on the short list from our pest control punch list of items but needed a cool morning before doing it in semi comfort.
| Tuckpointing is fun |
Yeah OK |
|
|
|
It was a good day to die...one's hair too
|
|
Bethany and Randy celebrated their 19th Anniversary on the 19th with an overnight stay at the Hotel St. Louis in downtown on Olive. We used our annual 1-night voucher for having a Marriott credit card to stay in this recent rehab of a Louis K. Sullivan skyscraper. We checked int after having a late sack lunch in Kenner Plaza and were quite pleased with our room which was a suite with a balcony, three TVs including one in the bathroom mirror (didn't even know that was a things).
| RnB in between wedding party pictures looking for the same background |
At City Garden with the STL masked rabbit |
|
|
Walking to the Arch grounds was filled with lots of unexpected pleasures: returning to Kenner Plaza, there was an impromptu launching of 4 hot air balloons as part of the Great St. Louis Balloon Race, which changed things up and this by having numerous launches all over the community instead of the massive one at Forest Park. On the steps of the Arch grounds, it was relaxing to people watch at a social distance without feeling crowded.
| Balloons for our Anniversary? |
At the Arch |
|
|
Returning back, we happened upon the remembrance rally for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and hung out for 15-20 minutes until picking up our dinner from Charlie Gittos (large portions of excellent Italian food (St. Louis is really blessed). Definitely marking the summer/autumn divide on a high note.
| Outside the Hotel St Louis |
Hotel St Louis terra cotta detail |
|
|
