Episode 45: April 2009
Highlights of the month:
• Weekend in New York with Dad and Julie;
• Duke joins the Shorg family;
• Eating and bowling for charity;
• Urinetown, the musical.
We started the month with a second, quick trip to New York City, this time to meet up with Dad and Julie for the long Easter weekend. We revisited a few of our new-found food favorites: The Tuck Shop and Kefi. We also took in another show, “Avenue Q”, an adult version of Sesame Street complete with a cast of puppets (yes, puppets). As first time visitors to New York City, Dad and Julie were interested in seeing the most famous sights. Unfortunately, the weather was not so cooperative, with rain most of the weekend, but we did our best to visit sights such as the Statue of Liberty, the site of the World Trade Center buildings, and Central Park. We also managed to take in a view of New York from the top of the Rockefeller Center. Despite the gale-force winds, the views were spectacular! It was another fun weekend away and it was great to see Dad and Julie.
Another highlight of the month was the welcoming of the new addition to the Shorg family: Duke, the cat. Duke’s grandparents (our friends, Patty and Michel) accepted a job in Germany, which saw them packing up and leaving Michigan. During a farewell brunch with them, we discovered that Duke’s mom (Patty’s daughter, Jenna) will not be able to take Duke until August when she moves into a place of her own. So, Neal and I are officially cat-sitting Duke for the summer. It’s been a lot of fun having a pet in the house and after a few days of apprehension, Duke has adjusted well to the house and us.
We also had a few charity events this month. One was a food event put on by Shelterhouse, an agency that provides food for the homeless and less fortunate. A variety of chefs from around Midland volunteered their favorite recipes and cooked up a storm for the patrons’ tasting pleasure. The second event was a “Bowl for Kid’s Sake” night on behalf of Big Brothers Big Sisters. We got a group of 20 people together to fill up a few lanes and had a great time in friendly competition. (Truth be told, I think the funky shoes are the real appeal of bowling!) We played two games each, followed by a few drinks while listening to dueling pianos at a local bar. The bowling event raised just over $14,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters and was a huge success.
The final highlight of the month was seeing a local production of the musical “Urinetown” that we went to see with our friends, Luis and Stephanie. True to form, the amateur theater of Midland did not let us down and put on an extremely well done production!
And believe it or not, that covers our month. Until next month, take care!
