The Curtis Clan - Summer 2021
Summer Solstice to Fall Equinox
Summer 2021 began on Father's Day and Randy celebrated by using the new electric power washer, shared with the neighbors, to clean the stucco and stairs to the side balcony. Within weeks the unseasonably early acorn dropping would stain the concrete all over again.
A Fuddruckers's "Feed 4 for $25" deal inspired us to take Amy and Alvan out for to dinner after Cate got off work in celebration of Father's Day.
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Fuddruckers with the A Sages
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Weekend in KC
On the first Friday of summer, Bethany and Randy made a road trip to Kansas City, stopping off briefly in the morning by the Holmes beautiful new house in the Village of Cherry Hill in Columbia. It had rained much of the way there but the wiper blades on the Traverse weren't working too well. As it turns out it was installer error as "somebody" didn't take off the protective cover when they put them on. This became apparent after purchasing another set that had yellow covers as opposed to transparent ones (so other men didn't read the instructions either and needed a color indicator to indicate something was wrong).
For lunch, we went to St Joseph, MO to sample the Neapolitan approved wood fired pizza at Il Lazzarone which did not disappoint.
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Wood fired lunch at Il Lazzarone in St. Joe
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When we arrived at the Downtown Marriot it was pouring but with a subterranean parking garage, we didn't get wet. Actually, we had lots of good rain karma all weekend as it rained when we weren't walking outside (and had working wipers from Columbia on).
Dropping off our luggage we joined Anthony and Lesha at the KC City Market and got coffee as the stalls were shutting down for the day. We then headed to a main stay Italian restaurant Garozzo's for dinner and went from a "45-minute wait to being seated" to being immediately seated in the backroom office of the owner (Anthony refused to divulge how he managed that trick but he has restaurant connections). We really enjoyed it, particularly being able to be snarkily observe that the toasted raviolis were the worst we've had not from the grocery store keeping STL vs KC rivalry simmering.
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After a terrific dinner at Garrozzos (except for the "meh" T- Ravs)
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The Marriot stay included a breakfast buffet which we did Saturday morning before meeting Anthony and Lesha at the City Market to begin a day of culinary grazing and sightseeing with highlights including:
Big Anthony's breakfast foot long smoked Italian sausage with green peepers and onions at Carollo's
Bargain cherries and strawberries and fried pork rinds for the Holmes' from the truck farmers
Beers at Minsky's pizza
Chinatown Food Market
Riverfront Heritage Trail bridge at the foot of Main Street leading to the Town of Kansas Observation Deck
| Spicy |
KC riverfront |
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free trolly to Union Station and Model Train Gallery
Bridge over the train tracks to Jacks Stack Barbeque to meet Jeff and Michelle Stitt
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At Jacks Stack Barbeque
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Desert at Cosentino's Downtown grocery across from the H&R Block world headquarters following a shoe horned ride in the Stitt Highlander
Pizza at the downtown KC location of Il Lazzarone (it was so good 30 hours earlier)
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Wood fired 2nd dinner at Il Lazzarone in KC
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We left on Sunday following a last visit to the City Market and getting some fabulous heirloom tomatoes, a bouquet of flowers and a big basil plant that provided us basil all summer long. On the way home we stopped off in St. Peter Sages to a extend family gathering with the Chicago and Waco Sages along with the townies.
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KC Market Bouquet and basil plant
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That Tuesday, Randy took Metrolink for the first time in 15 ½ months going into work. This began a transition from full time telework to going into the office a couple days a week. This would be short lived as when the COVID Delta wave hit in July, President Biden responded in part by setting a mandate that all personnel in Federal buildings wear a mask 100% of the time as opposed to just when within 6 feet of others. Leadership of the Federal government by coerced example but not an inducement to go in and we returned to full time telework.
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Back on Metrolink
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July 1924 vaccination cartoon
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July began with Cate and Randy cutting up a large fallen tree limb off the sweetgum ball tree at Randy's mom's house.
| Before |
After |
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Randy rode in the Webster Groves 4th of July parade with the Lisses in John's restored 1968 M715 Army truck (Jeep).
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With John's restored 1968 M715 Army truck (Jeep)
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As such, we missed seeing the anti-vaxxers and "COVID is a hoax" group that entered the parade as "Keys to a Healthy Gut". The community was incensed. This was another example of the pot of rage of civil disrespect simmering beneath the surface in America of late, needing just a nudge to boil up. Faithful believers of "truth" without a basis in science or facts are foundational part of America but it's going beyond being a tiresome irritation to put up with to be a frightening as their beliefs become more dangerous to the whole. Just because the 1st Amendment gives you the right to believe and spout, doesn't mean forcing it on others is welcome. Don't be an asshole. Maybe Jake and Elwood Blues had the right idea regarding marching twits.
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Echo Bluff Lodge and the double cabin to the right
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The next day Bethany and Randy left early in the morning for a two-night stay at one of the Echo Bluff "cabins", taking a room reserved for a family reunion for a friend that didn't happen. We met Antony, Lesha and Rob Stitt at the Public Brewhouse in St. James for lunch with way above average fried appetizers and very good beer (Giddy Goat Coffee Stout). The 4-room cabin was very comfortable with little expense spared for a rustic setting (e.g., solid hard wood 1 ½ inch wide, interior doors).
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In the creek at the name sake Echo Bluff
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The rest of the cabins spent their day on the Current River floating the portions we do regularly when staying at the nearby Pulltite in the fall. We chose to drive to Eminence, MO for and visit the Allery Spring Mill for the first time.
| At Alley Springs Mill |
Along Alley Springs |
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The Cur-tri mugging for selfies in the DQ line
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Meanwhile with Jane at Camp Echo
News from Jane at Camp Echo came via weekly phone calls home. As expected, she LOVED being a counselor, fulfilling a dream developed over 8 years of summer camp at the St. Louis YMCA's Camp Lakewood and family stays at Trout Lodge.
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Jane - Camp Echo Counselor
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Besides her responsibilities to a cabin full of campers, she facilitated most many of the waterfront activities: kayaking, canoeing, sailing; paddleboarding and tubing with water skiing being the exception. She made lots of good friends among the other counselors, most from Evanston and greater Chicagoland. She enjoyed their limited "off" times hanging out with trips into the towns of Fremont or Newago.
| Unmasked Grillers momment |
Masked |
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You have to LOVE being a counselor as the pay is modest or horrible when divided by actual hours a day of responsibility.
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Java Jane
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The only real bummer for her was a sprained ankle that got progressively more panful while hobbling around in her Chaco sandals. The on-staff nurse directed her to go to the local Urgent Care, where they confirmed the sprain. The ordeal also provided a painful lesson on the crazy costs of medical care in the US, even with good insurance, and dealing with workers comp and health insurance. Definitely part of the Adulting 101 curriculum (the paper work would linger through Christmas).
| Camp Echo Layout |
Cheese Ball Friends (note: air splint) |
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Given the distance from St. Louis and her fondness experience independence, she stayed at Fremont/Newaygo for the entire two months of the summer, telling most of her story through Instagram pics.
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Morning Assembly
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Cate and Randy took in Black Widow at the Hi-Pointe which was good but not all that memorable. The fact he didn't also take her to see the film on the bottom of the card, In the Heights, would be an albatross of parenting failure she'd hang on him for months (as if she didn't have money, transportation and friends to go with instead).
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Black Widow at the Hi-Pointe
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Out with friends at Pastaria in Clayton
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On 22 July Cate's wisdom teeth extraction went off without a hitch and only minor/normal amounts of swelling resulting. It led to a low-key B-Day celebration for Randy at home the next day instead of eating out or watching a Randy's choice movie due to Cate's soft food limited pallet and general lethargy. Packaged salad and frozen pizza for us and Olympics opening ceremonies that Randy fell asleep too before the USA team arrive. A few days later we went to see Wonder Woman 84 in the theater. That it attained a 59% on Rotten Tomatoes is unclear, as it wasn't anywhere near that good. Several times, the Spock's Brian episode of the original Star Trek came to mind as Randy thought: "That was really dumb. It can't get any dumber" and the script writers appear to reply with a: "Challenge accepted". The positive was that the Cur-tri shared the experience of a really bad movie based on a horrible script and got to rip on it together.
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Cate post wisdom teeth extraction
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The dogs got a second summer haircut this year. Cold dogs equals cuddly dogs.
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Cate seeks higher learner
After some coercion from her pushy parents, Cate was convinced to visit some other schools besides MS&T (Rolla) where she had joined her sister for a tour a year and a half earlier. First up was Wichita State University, Kansas's 3rd R&D university that has a lesser sports program than the larger better-known K-State or KU but is still highly regarded academically. Lots of Billionaire donation $ have had a very positive influence on the school's infrastructure in Kansas's largest City (ignoring the Metro area of KC which is mostly in Missouri). The tentative offer that she might qualify for in-state tuition being from St. Louis was a definite plus. Both Mom and Cate came aware with a very positive impression. There are no pictures on campus in keeping Cate's preferences but while at Blaze Pizza she was more amiable. The next day, they visited Manhattan and K-State, which also seem like a good choice but not quite so much.
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Blazing in Wichita
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A few days later, she made a trip to Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) with Dad. IUPUI had a fairly good Forensics program but the visit was mostly a function of its convenience as a stopping point in route to pick up Jane up at camp. As expected, IUPUI was an urban state university similar to UMKC or UMSL but not having much to offer out of state students and it was an easy No. That evening we hung out with the Indy Sages having dinner and sharing family stories and aspirations for college and careers.
Friday, 6 August (Jane's 19-year birthday plus 1) was a beautiful morning drive due north until we hit Michigan and we hit frog chocking rain. It let up to an intermittent dripple when we arrived at Camp Echo allowing us to do a reccy of the facilities with Jane being our tour guide. We loaded the car and didn't get soaked. Jane was on power babble at first but frequently drifted off in the back seat as we headed homeward. By the time we were on the outer edges of the Chicago metroplex, the rain was serious and Cate rerouted us multiple times with Google Maps throughout to avoid rain or traffic delays (lots of 2 lane roads that in no way seemed like a quicker route at first). We all enjoyed the Blaze Pizza stop for dinner in Champaign. Dad surprised himself driving 13 ½ hours from Indianapolis to Fremont, MI and then to Webster Groves in a single day (Cate pulled a 45 minutes shift in the dark but Jane requested a pass being exhausted from a summer of not enough sleep at camp).
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Blazing in Champaign at sunset
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The honeymoon of having Jane back among us again was short lived as the classic awkwardness of a child returning to her parent's nest, rules and norms conflicted with the freedoms and generally adult awakenings she experienced living among her peers (the other camp counselors) along with just the negative energy / vibes of her family. The week and a half she was home was a return to the familiar like taking the dogs for a walk, Whopper Wednesdays at Burger King, make you own pizza night at home or watching rom coms but it was a bit uncomfortable for all.
Celebrating Three Birthdays
10 August 2021 – The Missouri Bicentennial was recognized with a whimper in general but the Curti rose to the token effort of going for ice cream for dinner at Serendipity enjoying some What the Fudge WTF scoops in a complementary waffle cone (and Cate's employee discount too).
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Happy Birthday Missouri
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Speaking of Cate ice cream scooping job, her parents were both quietly pleased to hear her rant on multiple occasions that a number of the other kids at work didn't do a good job washing dishes or were slackers, not doing their share. It's nice to know she does have a good work ethic, even if she suppresses such tendencies at home.
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Jane getting a Pepper pillow for school
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Bethany's Birthday
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Taking Jane to WPI
Thursday the 19th, we loaded up the Traverse to begin the multi-day trek to Massachusetts and back to take Jane to WPI. That evening, we spent a lovely visit with Katie and Don and enjoyed better than expected diner at the Eat n Park in Sewickley. Day 2 saw a care free dash on I-80 across Northern Pennsylvania before multiple construction slowdowns adding a couple hours to the trip to Worcester.
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With Gompeii the Goat on the Quad
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Saturday was WPI Freshman Move-In Day and it was a beautiful New England morning in August. Before getting her dorm key, the students all had to pass a rapid COVID test while her parents passed and hour or so in the parking garage and in the fresh air watching the football team scrimmage. Moving her stuff in was painless as the fraternities and sororities swarmed the back of the Traverse and unloading all her stuff in minutes carting it up to her.
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Mom helping Jane settle in
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The initial room setup was a bit crowded with one of her roommate's family helping her move in (roommate 3 already ducted out). Jane's desire to organize her stuff immediately and get settled in worked best as both Mom and Dad left to walk about campus.
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Janes lofted bed
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Getting to eat at the Food Court at around 2:30 pm diminished the anxiety levels as hanger was beginning to set in, as the DECA food service sought to put their best foot forward for parents (it was a misleading demonstration of the offerings to come with no parents around). We said our goodbyes at 4:30 as per the campus Freshman schedule and headed to the hotel.
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WPI Goodbyes
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We got a text at 6 that Jane wanted her sunglasses she left in the car and also prompting a quick Target run to get her a couple other forgotten items (laundry soap, pool noodles to not bump her head on the lofted bed above her desk) and drop them off before 7 and her evening freshman gathering. It was a great relief and reassuring to see a relaxed and confident Jane appear after all the parents had gone and students were allowed to interact on their own as opposed to the anxious mess we had earlier in the day. Definitely parting on a positive note. The parents found a terrific Greek restaurant Meze Estiatorio and sharing the appetizer plate and stuffed pepper plate and toasting their accomplishment in getting one off to college. Opah!
Sunday, we left at 8 am and missing the worst of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Henri. Rain was bad for the first hour but by Hartford it was just rain and not the frog chocking downpour.
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Tropical Storm/Hurricane Henri path directly towards Worcester
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We made it to Pittsburgh spent the evening and next two day hanging out with Katie and Don.
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Dinner with Katie, Don and Robert
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| Roommates showing off their WPI beenies |
Roommates on 1st day of classes |
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Cate - Senior at WGHS
Meanwhile back home, Monday August 23 was Cate's LAST 1st day of school in Webster Groves at home as she started her Senior year (the parents weren't back home yet).
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Cate on her 1st day as a Senior
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| First day of pre-school |
First day of Kindergarten |
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Within two weeks of the start of school, Cate made the local CBS affiliate coverage for an unequal "crop top" dress code enforcement protest at WGHS (e.g., boys could wear them but not girls as it would be too distracting for the boys). We're glad she and the others woman felt empowered to protest unequal treatment, even if it wasn't the weightiest of concerns. Dad completely concurred that the policy should be the same for everyone, but expanding that meant no crop tops for anyone, as opposed to giving girls more dress code "freedom. His observation that men/boys of that age were already completely distracted by girls and what they were wearing or not, without reminding them too much was met with eye rolling and a hostile lecture that it wasn't up to the girls to provide a distraction free environment for the boys and if they couldn't handle it, that it was their problem and furthermore this unenlightened Boomer attitude disregarded the improved Gen Z awareness of gender fluidity, etc.…. It was a short-lived tempest and all but forgotten a week later.
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Cate protesting WGHS dress code
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The following week Cate had her Senior picture photoshoot at Tower Grove Park. We had the same photographer from last year, Carla Scuzzo of carlagraphs (https://carlagraphs.smugmug.com/Cate-Curtis-Webster-Senior-RHF/ } who got Cate "smiling, smoldering, walking, sitting, posing, owning the whole thing." Cate indulged her mother by having fun with the phot shoot and delaying chopping her hair & dyeing it violet until afterwards.
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Hetacromia Cate
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| Cate and Bethany |
Sharing a laugh and shape of their noses |
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And a bonus pic of Bethany by herself
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UP 4014 - The Big Boy
The Union Pacific Big Boy 4014, the last running example of the largest steam engine ever built going past the Tuxedo Park commuter train station was cause for a mini-holiday and some leave during the day. Thankfully for Cate, WGHS had a late arrival Monday so she could attend as well (though it was a bit behind schedule so she was a bit late but with a good excuse).
| A pair of Big Boys at Tuxedo Station |
Family & neighbors on the east side of the tracks |
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It had been a decade since the last time it came through. The girls were a lot younger but were eager observers.
| Cate and Jane ready to photo document the Big Boy in 2011 |
2021 Big Boy Route |
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Traveling for work again
Early September 2021, saw Randy's first research trip in a year and a half as the Seabee Museum archives opened again for the first time in six years for research. He was the one of the last researcher in 2015 before they closed to ascertain that all their records were declassified ("somebody" wanted some Confidential bomb target records). That process took several years to get the funding and Navy declassifiers to complete and then COVID delayed things further. Randy and his team arrived on Labor Day, taking the scenic route from LAX and iconic Randy's Doughnuts through Santa Monica and Malibu to Port Hueneme.
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He spent the next couple weeks wading through the monthly histories of the monthly histories of Naval Construction Battalion (i.e., CB or Seabees, get it?) units in the Pacific along with the layout maps of their camps. The National Archives considered this material non-permanent so it's fortunate that the Seabees decided to preserve it all (the parallel units for the Army under their operational Corps of Engineer units did not, which is a loss).
| Displaying Seabee "Can Do" Mojo We Build, We Fight |
Using an Canon SLR to get 2nd rate map copies (still no map copier at the archives) |
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Over the weekend, Randy drove up to Monterey and to see his dad for the first time in a couple of years. He broke him out of the Cedar Ridge Skilled Nursing Facility to enjoy some of the beauty of the tantalizing close splendor of Monterey Bay and Carmel he hasn't seen since entering the SNF a half a year before COVID. The SNF gave Ron only two 4-hour passes (10 am to 2 pm) to leave the facility, bending a few standard guideline to allow it to happen. We spent Saturday in Pacific Grove overlooking the Bay and having lunch and Sunday in Carmel overlooking the beach and having lunch at Mulligan's where his step-daughter Niamh /Nieve worked as a bartender and served them the best Reuben sandwich. A much-appreciated visit by both father and son. `
| Ron at Mulligans in Carmel |
Ron, Nieve & Randy |
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Randy had enough day light to visit Pinnacles National Park in a very cursory, box checking manner (in the Park for less than an hour). The recently elevated NP from a previous lesser National Monument status was nice but is clearly a disappointment compared to the grandeur of the other "National Parks" (NMs are also operated by the National Park Service but are generally created by Presidential Executive Order as opposed to the Congressionally Mandated NP designation). It was a fine NM or a good State Park but it doesn't belong among the other NP and is generally ranked at the bottom of the list of 63 (along with the Gateway Arch, which really should be a National Monument but it's a done deal). Among the NMs that should be a NP is the awesome Devil's Tower in northeast Wyoming. Even so, the drive from Hollister on the nearly deserted highway 25 in the late afternoon sunlight was magical and highly recommended.
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At the underwhelming Pinnacles NP
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Cate talked often throughout the summer of getting her cut off and died but she dutifully waited until after the Senior picture photo shoot. Afterward cutting it, she happily declared she looked like a pre-teen boy which lasted only a couple days until she dyed it fuchsia.
| Senior ID /yearbook mug shot |
After getting it cut off |
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At the Rep's Dreaming of Zenzille World Premiere to open the 2021-2022 Season
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Cate's was inducted into the National Honor Society on her first try, just like her sister and mom (and not like her dad who made on it on his 3rd and last semester of eligibility (i.e., Curtis Randall doppelganger & doodling in a CTBS test booklet made him a sketchy candidate).
| Cate's induction into the NHS |
The proud parents |
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