Ken & Stella, Columbus Ale House

A dusting of snow on the ground when I woke near 6am, but by the time I completed calisthenics and delivered Mindy’s coffee it was snowing again and this time a lot harder. In fact, it looked more like a full-on winter storm outside. Jacob, I am sure, wasn’t too thrilled with the sudden burst of winter weather, but he still wore shorts.

I planned to work from home until 10am or so and then head across town to a customer location where I would finish my day. A judging by the radar, the snow would be out of the area within the hour. Mindy & Bella were off to school as normal, and shortly after Bella left, I headed out for a run. By then there was between 1-2” of fresh snow. It was gorgeous and plenty fluffy. The temperature was hovering around 30 degrees and it melted quickly on the walks and roads. As a consequence, and aside from bundling warmly, it had little if any impact on my 4.1 mile run.

Enjoyed ham and eggs for breakfast then headed up for a shower. Left the house for New Albany near 945am. Cold walk from the depths of the parking lot, still hovering near freezing. Supposed to get even colder Tuesday night with a low around 23 degrees. Too bad for all the flowering trees and shrubs that started to bloom over the past weekend. Good chance their flowers wouldn’t survive should the forecasted lows come to fruition.

Stayed busy with another customer call and more reporting until our standing 1pm Tuesday meeting. And just as it usually does, the meeting went till almost 2pm. I had a lot on my daily to-do list, and certainly enough to keep me busy until 415pm and our weekly team call. Wrapped the call up at 445pm and soon packed up for home.

I talked with Mindy on the drive home. We planned on going to visit Ken at Dodd Hall. To accommodate, Jimaken agreed to take the kids for a couple hours. Soccer practice was canceled. No surprise there. I got home by 520pm and after freshening up, Mindy and I headed off to Dodd Hall at OSU to see Ken.

We cut across 5th avenue through Grandview arriving near 6pm. We parked in the adjoining parking lot so we didn’t have to walk in the cold spring air. By the way, by then the sun was out and almost all the morning’s snow had melted away. Just a few scattered remnants.

There was a nurse in with Ken and I think he’d just gotten out of the shower. After a couple minutes Mindy and I were allowed in to visit. We thought we heard Lori in there but it was just the nurse and Ken. She left us alone to visit. Ken looked far better than the week prior but his mood much darker. The original plan had him going home the previous Sunday for a short visit but that was before complications with his right knee where they discovered a blood clot and had to do surgical procedure to prevent any possibility of it causing another stroke. As a result, he was still heavily drugged for pain during our visit.

Ken told Mindy and I that he wished Lori hadn’t found and save him. I hated hearing him say that but understand his frustration. He wants his old life back. He told us that the plan is still for him to go home on Thursday and then go to daily physical therapy in Grove City close to home. However, given that he was noticeably drugged, I wasn’t ready to take that as fact.

Ken looked really tired, and even admitted as much when asked. In turn, Mindy and I said our goodbyes then left Dodd Hall around 655pm. Once on the road, I suggested a quick stop at the new Miller’s Columbus Ale House for one beer. It’s located at the corner of Olentangy and Third Ave where an old, ornate bank once sat. I think it’s been opened for about 6 months now. Mindy agreed.

Fairly good crowd on hand. We opted for two stools at the end of the large U-shaped bar. Quite a large beer selection and lots from Ohio. We both settled on a CBC Bodhi and then decided to share an order or potstickers. Spotted former CBC server, Stella. We hadn’t seen Stella for a really long time, and maybe since she left CBC. She gave Mindy and I both a hug and shared a little about what’s been going on in her world. Still looking for love. Her daughter Olivia is about to turn 5. Wow! Hard to imagine.

We stuck to our plan, having just the one beer then heading for home. Shortly before we left, the manager stopped over to say hello. Seemed very friendly. We took the opportunity to brag about Stella. HE concurred. Said she works circles around the others. Both kids sent texts asking Mindy to pick-up Chipotle on the way home. Not his time, Mindy countered. We had too many leftovers in the fridge.

Arrived home around 810pm. By then the sun was setting with a mix of thin and thick clouds on the horizon making for one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve seen in recent memory. I wanted a pic but our views were tainted by buildings. We weren’t home too long before I slipped off to bed where I watched some TV before falling asleep. Just vaguely remember Mindy coming to bed. No idea the time.