Happy St. Patrick’s Day, readers! Here is a picture of Castle Donovan, possibly belonging to my mother’s ancestors. (Her maiden name was Donovan.)

What I really wanted to write about was my weekend before last, March 7. My neighbor who walks Finnegan and Angus is an 8th grader named McKenna, a very bright and personable young lady. She and her classmates have been working for months for a Mock Court competition, and I had told her I’d like to attend. She was surprised, especially since it would be held an hour and a half away in Tumwater (near Olympia). But I had never been to one, and I thought it would be fun to support her team. As it turned out, there were 3 other important events scheduled for that day, and I told McKenna that I didn’t think I could make it. Leslie had just turned 50 and was planning a big murder mystery party with all her friends to mark the milestone, and I was invited. On the same day was the largest ham radio convention in Washington. I had not attended for several years because of my responsibilities. It was in Puyallup and would have kept me from home for too long. Also that day one of my favorite neighbors was having a going away party as she was moving to San Francisco.

McKenna had seemed quite excited about my going to her event, but she understood about the conflicts. As I gave the day more thought, I realized that the people in my life were much more important than things, and I could sacrifice the ham event to go to McKenna’s event. Also, Leslie’s event would not start until evening, so although it would be a long day, I could do it all.

McKenna’s event was great! I was very impressed with the professionalism of these 8th graders. As I talked to McKenna after,she explained that they had been given the scenarios, but they had to develop their questions of the witnesses and their opening and closing statements, as well as be prepared with objections. In the first trial McKenna was a defense attorney. The “judge” and “jury” were experienced lawyers who critiqued the students’ performance. (McKenna in particular was praised for her speaking voice and confidence.) I was really proud of her! She had 3 more trials to do that day, all with the same scenario but with the students in different roles. I left for the ham convention after the first trial.

Next was the Mike & Key Swap Meet and Ham Convention in Puyallup. I hit that on the way back from Tumwater. I was able to stay a couple of hours, and wander among the tables and tables of used ham gear and junk. It takes up two floors of the Puyallup Fair Exhibition Center. I was good though. I only bought a handful of cable connectors. I did get to see a bunch of people I hadn’t seen in a while, and I got to look at a bunch of used ham gear and junk–a geek’s dream! One thing I noticed though: there sure were a lot of old guys with gray hair and beard! Where did they come from? (Actually, we have a lot of diversity in my largest group.)

Also on the ham radio front, I worked with my long distance radio for several hours last weekend. There was a lot of activity and I made by first contact to a country on the continent of Africa. The county was Guinea-Bissau, which I had never heard of, but it has been independent since 1974. Apparently, the government has not been too stable since independence.

I made it home in time to take a rest before Leslie’s party. I had contributed some chicken chili for the event, made the day before. She had about 30 people there, and it was an 80’s themed murder mystery with characters based on 80’s celebrities or movie characters. It turned out that my character, Alligator Dundee, was the “Guest of Honor” (i.e. victim). Not only was I killed during the gathering, but as I mingled with the others to share clues, no one liked me and no one would cooperate. Apparently, I had pissed off all the other characters in one way or another! (Later, Leslie told me that several of her friends said they felt terrible about talking to her dad like they did!) The party was a lot of fun, and the theme encouraged people to mingle with each other throughout the evening. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to my neighbor’s going away get together, but I did see her a day later and gave her a big good bye hug. We will miss her here in our community.

Next up, Sweden in a couple of weeks, and then volunteering for communications at the Olympus Rally.

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