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YES! Maggie from Maggie's Mind. And her Dad, Bill:
I'm not sure what he thought when he sat down with us ('us' being SWMBO, #3 Son and me) but he soon warmed to the group and joined in the conversation. A nice man. He MUST be - after all, he's Maggie's Dad, and she is SO great, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree - so it just makes sense that he is just as nice a man, as his daughter is, a woman.
We had a warm and friendly evening of brilliant conversation and good food - of which there was a LOT. Of both.
The reason the #3 Son was there was the program that Maggie has come to Chicago to interview for - JET; The Japanese/English Teacher exchange, run by the Japanese government. Given that #3 is going to major in Japanese in college, I thought that the opportunity to speak to Maggie would be of value to him. As it turned out, he was animated and inquisitive and she gave him some valuable insights into her experience in Japan. I only wonder who it was that stuck a quarter in his ear.
And of course - there were hugs. Many hugs. Maggie had a list of people for whom she was required to give me hugs for. Which was cool. Have I EVER mentioned that I LOVE HUGS? I don't recall. Maggie, by the way, is a GREAT hugger.
BTW, Bill and I shook hands. Just thought you ought to know that.
I still don't want to brag, but ...
The very next day, I had lunch at Merle's Bar-B-Que in Evanston, Illinois with the two gorgeous ladies you see sitting with the fat old man in the booth below.
I have no idea who that fat guy is. Ahem.
As animated and interesting as the conversation was the evening before, the conversation at Merle's with Cat (Catherine), of Wait.What?, and Linda, who is Employee No. 3699 of The Random Memorandum, was not one to be left in the dust. We sat and talked and ate for two solid hours and enjoyed each other's company immensely. And, of course, there were hugs. Great hugs. Have I mentioned I LOVE hugs? Well, I do. And I did.
Maggie, and Linda and Catherine all in the span of less than 24 hours.
I am truly blessed.
Ndinombethe.
