Family accomplishments from last week. 11 year old granddaughter Joan got her ears pierced, and 5 year old grandson Izzy can now ride a bicycle. On Monday, it’s back to school, but they had a full summer. Joan spent a month at an arts camp near Philadelphia and two weeks at Smithsonian summer programs. Izzy went to the local Ramah day camp, went camping with his father and visited relatives in Washington State, and spent a week at bicycle camp. They both spent a week visiting their other grandparents in Massachussets.

We spent a week on an Alaskan cruise and another week in and around Glacier National Park in Montana. Our plan was to end the summer with friends in Kennebunkport ME, but just got word that our host is ill. We are sorry to miss our time in Maine, but sorrier to hear he is going to require medical attention, and wish him the best.

We are now deciding how to spend the week. It’s hard just turning off the spigot, so we are planning to go somewhere and do something, at least for 3 or 4 days. Our creativity will surprise you.

September will be busy here as we get back to our routine, welcome Israeli house guests and celebrate the Jewish holidays. We are now planning the year’s entertainment. Six Sunday afternoons will be spent at the Shakespeare Theatre and five at Theater J. We hope to see several of the plays at Studio Theatere, and now and then elsewhere. Because of Trump’s destruction of the Kennedy Center and the exile of the Washington Opera and the National Sympathy Orchestra, we will get tickets to some of their performances, which will be spread out across the area in several venues, some close, and some far from our house.

We have tickets to one more baseball game, on September 15, which turns out this year to be Edie’s birthday. On the subject of the Nats…….enough said. Unlikely we will get to other sporting events this year.

My birthday this year will fall on Thanksgiving Day (as it did in 1942), so the entire country will take the day off and celebrate. My cousin Donna has a big birthday in December, so odds are that a St. Louis trip is in the offing. More travel over the year? We will see. With a travel agent in the family (please see Michelle for your cruise and other vacation needs – I know how to reach her), anything is possible.

Hopefully, today will be quiet. Downtown, the Indy500 cars are getting ready to tear up the city tomorrow. A 1.7 mile route along Pennsylvania and Independence Avenues between 4th and 9th (that is the approximate route) to be lapped 147 times (that makes 250 miles, one for each year of American independence) by 25 cars racing as fast as 180 mph. Thank you, Donald Trump. What could be dumber?