Brad and Cami invited friends over for dinner party on Friday, which included an ice cream trip to beat the heat, and it turned into a long debate on education styles, rhetoric and literature, before ending on politics. The company and debate was exciting and invigorating, giving me cause to seriously consider a return to school.
Before dinner, the Freemans took me to campus, which was beautiful, if not overwhelmingly large. Brad informed me that after a recent acquisition, Ohio State now stands as the owner of the largest graphic novel (read: comic book) library in the world. Another point for the Buckeyes, I'm afraid.
On Saturday, the heat continued, and we decided to try to stay out of it as much as possible, deciding to hit the zoo, where shade and interior displays could keep us cool. Like most zoos, the trip inspired a mixture of curiosity, sadness and excitement.
Among the best was the 300-pound, 24-foot-long Python — the largest snake in captivity — and a beautifully lumbering Manatee that seemed to have forged a friendship with a sea turtle. Of course, there were tigers and monkeys and a koala that looked like Yoda to make the day fun, as well.
That evening, we attended a surprise birthday party for another friend. While we were all waiting around for the guest of honor, our hostess, a Nevada native whose sister was visiting from home, showed off a gift trucked in from Nevada. "You Oregon kids will enjoy this," she said, pulling a block of Tillamook sharp cheddar from the fridge. We stood, mouths falling open all at once, instantly jealous of the Oregon delight. California might claim that its cows are happy, but to me, the wet, muddy, seasonally depressed cows of Oregon make for far better dairy. Needless to say, the cheese went back in the fridge, despite many attempts to pry it for ourselves.
After the birthday surprise, the party moved out on the town. Columbus was buzzing due to it being gay pride week, graduation day and the eve of the monthly art gallery open hop. Thousands of people walked the streets. It was like nothing I've ever seen, though I've spent late nights out in Portland, New York and Berlin.
Home by 3 A.M., we winded down by watching an episode of Cheaters on TV. If you are unfamiliar with the show it features what must be a once-jadded-by-infadelity host employing "operatives" to spy on the cheating partners of the guests. With camera evidence in hand, the guest and host always confront the cheater, usually producing Jerry Springer type results. "You always hurt the ones you love," we concluded, after hearing one scorned lover rattle off a series of lovelorn cliches soon after keying her ex-boyfirend's car.
Sunday was a low-key day, which ended with the glorious win of the Celtics over the Lakers. Hard to ask for anything better, though, I might have liked to beat Brad at Scrabble after coming back from a bad start. He held on though.
Leaving this morning, after a delicious pancake breakfast — Cami's cooking made me a happy guest —I headed for the south.
Thanks for the enthusiasm for our cheese! Please check out our fan club when you get a chance and be at the forefront of contests and new products!
Cheers,
Mike
http://www.tillamookfanclub.com/