If the Shoe Fits Obama ...

 

I planned on getting up at 7am so we could leave for the OSU graduation by 9am. That way I'd have a little time to relax and enjoy coffee, run, shower, and dress. Turns out, I slept until 710am, or ten minutes later than originally planned. Not bad.

I started coffee then played on the internet. Coffee was ready near 730am. I enjoyed coffee and internet until 8am. I took Mindy coffee then left for a run. It was partly cloudy and mild - about 56 degrees. I ran in shorts and a long sleeved wicking shirt. I was comfortable throughout the relatively easy 3 mile run.

Mindy was already out of the shower and blow drying her hair when I got back to the house. I took the pug on a walk then headed up for a shower. Mindy made us both egg sandwiches while I showered. We weren't sure when out next opportunity to eat would come. According to some, they were preparing graduation attendees for 2-3 hour waits in security lines. Ugh! We woofed down our sandwiches and were ready to leave at 9am sharp.

Decided to cut through Arlington to Waltham to Kenny. It was fast, easy drive. Arrived in the west campus parking lot by 920pm. We had to walk what amounted to about a quarter mile to the shuttle line. Actually, I was prepared to walk all the way to the stadium but Mindy wanted to ride the free shuttle. It was sunny but still a little cook for the shorts and t-shirt I was wearing. The last forecast I saw was calling for sun and highs in the low to mid 70s. The line for the shuttle buses was long, but moved swiftly. They have this thing down to a science. Three buses loaded at a time. We were at the stadium and in line for security by 935a.

The security line looked fairly long too, but it also moved fast as there were multiple screening stations. Everyone entering had to pass through a metal detector, much like you'd see at an airport. No problems getting through security. We were at our seats in section 34B of south stands by 952am. No it was hurry up and wait. Both Mindy and I were craving coffee, but the lines for the concessions were longer than the security lines. I passed. By 1030am the clouds thickened overhead defusing most of the morning sunshine. Add to that, a chilly breeze, and it was downright cold. But all was good as soon as the sun would reappear.

Around 1045am Mindy caved and went for coffee, She was gone for about 30 minutes. She returned with a diet Coke, hot pretzel, and a story. Said they had coffee but no cups. Duh! She laughed it off. The graduation wasn't expected to begin until 1130am with the entrance of the grads. And then President Obama was scheduled to speak around noon. Time dragged. There was nothing to do but people watch. Using my best judgment, I'd say there were 60K people in attendance counting the 9K graduates. I was so board at one point I counted the grad chairs, which I shared with Mindy that there were approximately 10K.

1130am came and went and still no graduated making their entrance. Instead, they started filing in around 1155am. And that whole ordeal took upwards of 30 minutes. A lot of people were laughing at how long the orchestra played the graduation song. OSU president Gordon Gee spoke briefly before introducing the commencement speaker, President Obama. Obama received a thunderous ovation and then delivered a somewhat light, but thoughtful message about citizenship. He challenged the graduates to participate and persevere. And of course he threw in a little politics too, sharing that the economy is improving and creating jobs. I enjoyed his message. He spoke for about 30 minutes.

Of course whenever the President is in town, you can rest peacefully knowing that the secret service is lurking nearby too. High atop the stadium, in the center and then at both ends of the horse shoe, the secret service watched over the crowd and surrounding area with enormous binoculars. Perched just below their feet were some very large machine guns on stands.

Obama left shortly after his finishing his speech and receiving an honorary degree - Doctor of Laws. There were a few more honorary degrees handed out, including one to Annie Leibovitz, famous photographer. Can’t readily recall the others. With 9000 graduates, very few actually were called and walked across the stage – PHD candidates only. But there were other doctors that weren’t given the opportunity. Not sure why. The 250+ that did walk, still took quite a while, at least 45 minutes. They did the rest of the graduates in bulk after calling their individual colleges to stand. The graduation ended near 245pm, but Mindy planned to meet Tyler, her former student, at the Buckeye Grove located just south of the stadium for photos afterwards. We waited at least 30 minutes for Tyler to show. Apparently, the grads had to stick around to get their actual degree.

Finally met with Tyler, his girlfriend, and his family near 330pm in the Buckeye Grove. He gave Mindy a lifting hug and told that she was partially responsible for his degree. Touching moment. We hung with the family for about 10 minutes but then headed for the shuttle and ultimately our car. We were both pretty hungry. Took another half hour to shuttle and get to the Accord. Was just after 4pm when we headed out of the parking lot.

We settled on the Big Fat for dinner. I asked Mindy if she still was interested in stopping at Lowes. She was, but only after eating first. I understood that. I was really hungry too. The Big Fat wasn’t busy at all but must have had several reservations coming in. The hostess wasn’t sure about seating us until Johnny, the owner, recognized us and took us immediately to a table. He introduced the hostess as his new wife. Can’t recall her first name. Michelle? She’s cute but nowhere near as charming as Rene.

We pretty much knew what we wanted to eat. Mindy ordered a glass of wine and I ordered lemonade. When Mindy ordered Nicky’s famous scallops, I switched gears and went with the blackened grouper. No sense ordering the same thing. We wofed down the free appetizers – pita and olive dip. Yum!

We both ordered Greek salads with our meals too. Their produce is always super crisp and fresh. Our entrees arrived shortly after we finished our salads. Perfect! Both plates looked good, though I expected my grouper to be thicker. I wondered if it was really tilapia. Still, it was really good. Mindy gave me one of her giant scallops. She was right, they were very good. By the time we were mid meal, the restaurant was full, no doubt mostly graduation dinner reservations. Mindy said dinner was on her. Cool!

We were in and out of there rather quickly. I’m thinking it was near 545pm when we headed across the river and just up the road to Lowes in Mill Run. There I wanted to other one of those giant red flower pots since I dropped and broke one last fall. Even though it’s made of plastic, it broke like ceramic when I accidentally dropped it off the deck while full of potting soil. Oops!

We looked at their deck pillows too but found none we really liked. I grabbed a flower pot then headed to checkout. There only 10-15 minutes. Mindy wanted to run to Target for bananas, which was only about a half mile up the road. I was getting sleepy and suggested that I would simply wait in the car. While waiting for Mindy, I tuned to inspect the large red planter in the back seat. Holy crap! It was already cracked! Dang it! I was frustrated more at myself for not inspecting it better before making the purchase. I was determined to take it back. And as soon as Mindy was back in the car that’s what we did. We headed right back to Lowes.

This time Mindy waited in the car. The return desk was super cool. Told me to leave the cracked pot there and then go after another. Told me not to even bother stopping by the desk. I went for another but this time made sure that it was perfect before leaving. I walked by the return desk even though it wasn’t necessary. Felt odd grabbing a giant planter and simply walking out the door.

It was after 6pm and we were expecting Jimaken and the kids home around 630pm. They called a little earlier and shared that Jacob’s team won the weekend soccer tournament. Arrived home near 625pm. And even though the day flew by, and I did little more than sit all day, I was exhausted. And so was Mindy. Spent the duration of the evening relaxing. As soon as the kids were home Bella predictably asked to go play with Makayla, who was at the soccer tournament too. Her team won as well. They must be really good. Her team has won the last three tournaments.

Around 8pm I changed into my PJs. Wow, somehow with more clouds than sun, I got one heck of a sunburn. My face and rams were beet red. IN the kitchen, I decided to make a Jack & Coke. Yum! Boy did it taste good. Mindy headed for bed shortly after 9pm while Bella and I remained up. I stayed up until 10pm.