I never learned to cook and have always been spoiled by Hal making my meals for more than 30 years now. When Chuck was young we bought him a play kitchen so that he could be like Dad. During the kids’ school days, if Hal was away for some reason, we would eat out for dinner or go to Granny’s.
Fortunately Chuck and Max have followed in Hal’s footsteps and they can both whip up dinner for themselves. Chuck does a lot of the cooking for he and Jenny, and I’m sure Max will dazzle Christine with creative dishes when they’re married. Or dishes to wash.
Parents always wonder what their kids will grow up to be and do. We were convinced that Chuck would join the military, as he loved GI Joe cartoons and toys and beamed as a kid when we found a military patch at the Army Navy Surplus store in Chicago that Aunty Bease sewed on his shirt. Max aspired to be a video game programmer and certainly had the credentials for it after endless hours with Nintendo Game Boy and Sega Genesis. Actually he still wants to do that.
Life’s adventures and career paths have led Chuck and Max to different cities and experiences in recent years, but with the start of grad school at U Dub for Max, the boys are now near each other in Seattle. They share laughs and jam sessions together and have even learned to share the basketball, being on the same pick-up team for the first time as opposed to trash talking each other for competitive family games.
I have an old Wahine basketball shirt that says, I do my cooking on the court. I’m sure Hal wishes I did my cooking in the kitchen. But we’re both glad that family time together works in locations near and far.
Beyond Six Five 
Dear Lisa, This entry is one of your best blogs. I love the photos and the spirit of having never learned to cook. We each chose to be untypical women in the kitchen. The difference is you have changed the projection and expectations for the next generation. And now your “boys” are the marrying kind. You and Hal must have made marriage look like a good idea!
Brian and Cindy have been in Zagreb for the last four nights. We saw an outstanding concert with an outstanding Russian pianist who played Tchaikovsky symphony 1, opus 23, ate at great spots and caught up on conversation. They left today for two nights in Budapest, return for one more night. We have had many visitors. It is hard to believe we only have one more month living in Europe. We will be back in July as I decided to finish some dental work here in conjunction with a Paris Accenture meeting. We like missing the political news in the US, but miss a few things. We have been so lucky this year to meet great people and learn a lot of history and culture of Former Yugoslavia countries. My five page essay will be published this May. My other writing of my biography has been slow as I focused on learning this country and having too much fun!
Spotlight won best picture and is a powerful movie. We do not get all the latest films, but saw that one. Mark Ruffalo plays a believable journalist. I think you would enjoy the film.
Love, Blythe
Blythe McGarvie Bmcgarvie@gmail.com If urgent, please text me at +1-757-339-2737
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