Going Home, 2010

Jessie, Leslie and Katie in Phoenix

I assume regular readers of the Tabbies are aware the Thorne's in India took home leave this Spring and returned to the US for six weeks in the regenerative weather which is Northern Hemisphere Spring.  We headed to the USA from Paris April 13 and returned to Bengaluru May 25.  During the visit, Allison worked and renewed work relationships, while Jessie and I got poked and prodded by the local medical community.  Jessie and I also took a two week trip out West to visit grandparents, grandkids, and, well, just grand folks all around.  Ever the working girl, Allison met us on weekends in Phoenix and Great Falls.  This was Alli's first visit to the US since moving to India, and she wanted to make sure there was absolutely no downtime in the schedule.  I don't think we spent one weekend in MSP as they were all parceled out to other activities.

Gabe, Kira and Natasha in Phoenix

While in the Cities we visited many friends, and Jessie had a number of play dates with friends, and Alli and I assumed the responsibility to visit as many as possible of our old restaurant haunts - at least the recession survivors. Favorite Italian dishes on the patio and a glass of red wine helped dissipate the past twenty months into vaporous memories as if we had woken up from a dream.

Food facilitated  reconnection with friends from Bengaluru who have moved back to the Cities when Murphy's hosted a BBQ for all the ex-pats, Vanderpool's hosted a BBQ at their spread in Rochester, Hegde's hosted an ex-pat spaghetti dinner, and the Thursday night Bengaluru dinner group met at a TexMex fusion place in South Minneapolis.  On the home cooking front, Crystal and Gary, and Sally and Dave had us over to their respective houses on more than one occasion to make sure we had plenty of home cooking before we returned to the land of curry.  What was common and interesting in the ex-pat gatherings was that all ex-pats at the various functions were not all in Bungaluru at the same moment, but we had all been there at some time intersecting with others in the group; so, new acquaintances and old friends - Cheers!

While in Great Falls,  we had a wonderful ski club BBQ -n- beer fest on McCord's deck where we visited with the Showdown gang in the cool Montana evening air. Alli got a chance to visit her brother for the first time in two years, and Alli's folks came up to GTF from Butte to round out a family reunion.  Jessie played with cousins Matthew and Zachary and plotted how she could convince dad that she needed a Goldendoodle just like Mya - Dean and Tara's new pooch.  Jessie's relentless quest for a dog continues unabated.

We lucked into a chance to connect with the Hot or Not volleyball gang we played played with.  The team has changed venues as they are now playing at Mama G's in Maple Grove, where we enjoyed visiting with the group and hearing how they have survived the last twenty months over beers -n- burgers in the cool MN evening air.

And, speaking of luck, Alli had another run at Joe in a poker faceoff.  Chris F. hosted at his new digs in Golden Valley, and it was fun to be with the poker group once again.  There have been a couple of poker games in Bengaluru, but nothing compares to the raw tense steely-eyed focus when Alli and Joe go all in.

One special visit was to Jess Elias (big Jess), whom Jessie (little Jess) and I met on the wedding trip to Katmandu.  Big Jess taught little Jess how to let her hair down and dance the night away at wedding receptions.  While in Bengaluru, big Jess had adopted a couple of street dogs, and she moved them to MN (at great expense).  When we had visited Jess in her flat just before she left India, and the dogs were quite timid as the ever-present street noise was a constant reminder of a prior quality of life.  However, after few months having the prowl of Jess's new backyard replete with bushes, grass, things tall enough to require a lifted leg, and the solitude of a sunbeam generated nap, these dogs are living Midwestern canine large, and constantly demonstrate their appreciation and affection for they now know what rescue is all about - Minnesota Nice!

Jessie and Megan

Jessie got to spend some serious quality time with Megan, and with her chums from the old school, Tyler and Trevor, and her chum-moved-home, Jimmy.  Our first weekend in MN was spent in New Ulm where Megan is enrolled at Martin Luther College.  Jessie and Megan had the run of the local Holiday Inn, while Alli and I enjoyed a visit to New Ulm's stately B-n-B The Bohemian, while enjoying a cuppa at a local used book store and dinner at a jazz joint.  Tyler and Trevor treated Jessie to a sleepover and a trip to Chucky Cheese's, as well as lots of pizza and laughs.  The three amigos had a great time being just who they are - kids.  Jimmy and Jessie enjoyed a number of play dates, and it was as if time had stood still - they just picked up where they left off and continued the fantasy of whatever was on their minds.

The week prior to heading back to India Megan was home for the Summer, and she and Jessie spent a number of days together, while I went shopping for all the stuff we were taking home with us and visiting work buddies.  I visited Rich and the old gang at UCare to hear what's news, and I was treated to a wonderful sandwich by Rahel as we caught up on her news of new motherhood, and I met Wendy at a local Caribou where she filled me in on her new job and travails of the prior year over a cup of coffee.

Nothing like good times and old faces to make you feel home is where your friends are - it was fantastic to visit with everyone, and to be in the land of real beef a plenty.  Many, many thanks to Murphy's, Totten's, Gillis's, Klatt's, Elwood's, McCord's, Hegde's, Vanderpool's, Hot or Not, the Showdown gang, and the every-now-and-again poker club for the above average food, talk, and bountiful beverages.

Superior Clematis

We visited the cabin on the North Shore to make sure it was surviving its alone time.  On our first trip, we were weekending with our good friends, the Elwood's.  We actually had to make two visits to the cabin, with the second to sign off on the repairs.  However, the second trip gave us the opportunity to see the wild Clematis that grows next to the lake and absorb the cool foggy Superior air billowing inland from the lake into our olfactory pores.  I teared up when I walked up the stairs leading to the kitchen and smelled the smell of the cabin.  In that instant I was lost in 12 years of memories that nearly buckled my knees.  The spirits of Picard, Max, and Xander still inhabit the cabin, and Jessie took her first steps when she stood up in the kitchen and walked out to Uncle Dick's old lounge chair.  I did not want to go back downstairs and lock the door for yet another year.

We invested one day riding around looking at neighborhoods and houses with our realtor, Seth Johnson of CBBurnet.  It is now nine months to repatriation, and that mean buying a new house, car, TV, bed, couch, table, and a whole raft of other stuff.  But, it all starts with an abode, and that is where Seth comes in.  It was a whirlwind tour of what's in MSP inventory, and daily now, Alli is checking at the listings to see what's new in the TC market.  Seth, we are sharpening our criteria....

As we were arriving into MSP, Jessie asked Alli if we would experience any snow.  It was April, and we were in Minnesota, after all.  Well, we did not get snowed on in MN, but Jessie and I got snowed on twice in UT and ID respectively, and in both cases had to drive significant distance in raging blizzards.  No hits, no runs, no errors - not bad for not having driven in inclimate weather for a long time.  However, I have described the event to others as "white knuckles and sphincter tightening", but having said that I must say that feeling snow in your face is rapturous.  I regaled in 40 degree weather for 5 of 6 weeks, before returning to the steam and monsoon in Bengaluru - Jessie and Alli had to buy new sweatshirts Up North to keep warm.

During the six weeks we drove about 4,000 miles on the ground in four different rented cars, and in the air did Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Great Falls.  On the ground, Jessie and I also took in Vernal UT and Pocatello ID.  We base camped out of a service apartment in downtown Minneapolis, however, over the course of six weeks we stayed at seven different motels and with relatives, and I must say it took me another six weeks of waking up in Bengaluru where I spent at least five minutes laying in bed wondering just where on the earth I was.

When Jessie and I were in Vernal UT to visit my Aunt Rhoda, we took Rhoda for a Sunday ride out to Dinosaur National Monument, which is a very natural thing for Thorne's in Utah to do.  It was April, and it had snowed the prior night, and the air was fresh and blustery.  We managed to see the first spring flower arrivals in the clay hills of the Morrison along with prairie dogs sorting out their burrows while the mule deer browsed the brush for tender shoots.  Jessie and I took a nature hike while Rhoda napped, and upon our return to the car, we went to see if we could find a hellgrammite under the Green River stones that border the river, which was a favorite activity when I was Jessie's age during family picnics to the river.  As we were turning stones, two river boats docked and the oarsmen began to dismantle and stow their gear on an awaiting truck / trailer combo.  Well, it turns out that they were park rangers who had just floated the river from the confluence of the Yampa, camping in the inclimate weather assuring the river and park facilities were safe.  Jessie got caught up helping the two rangers break down their boats, which too the better part of an hour.  One of the rangers gave her a "merit" badge for her help and told her to come back in 10 years to get a job.  It was fun to watch Jessie pitch in and help the rangers, and to treat Aunt Rhoda to yet another Spring.

At the end of our visit in the USA, we packed up our bags and got back on the plane to India, where we (and our baggage) arrived to two very happy to see us tabbies, and a happy Imtiaz who met us at the airport.  Oh, BTW, the boys were lovingly cared for by Mrs. Pinto (cook) and Sharanama (housekeeper), and Jessie's good bud Preston Heihn while we were gone.  However, it was several days before the boys stopped sleeping on our heads - lest we sneak away in the night.  And, it was several days before jet lag left us awake all day long.  Flying into the future really hurts; possibly, Thich Nhat Hahn is correct - that it is better to live in the present. 

Our spring was extremely busy.  With Dubai, Chennai, Viet Nam, Thailand, France, and the USA jammed into nine weeks, we arrived home to Bengaluru very tired.  However, within two weeks we hosted a going away party for Debesh and family, Jessie's BD trip to Wonderla, and starting planning the July 4 / good bye party for the Heihn's.  And after all that activity, Alli has already booked trips to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Greece, and we are planning to take the year end holidays in Australia. No moss is going to grow on Alli.

[Uh, the reason for Australia is that our first holidays were in Asia, and our second holidays were in Africa, and so we decided we needed to stick with the theme of visiting continents that began with A, and yes Antarctica has been ruled out as a vacation destination.  However, by the time we return home in 2011, Antarctica will be the only continent Jessie has not visited.  No moss growing on that girl, either.]

So as I sit here, hands on the keyboard, awaiting the next monsoon event to happen, with a tabby seeking a gentle pat, hoping the electricity stays on long enough to finish this piece, I feel like the family oak with arms spread wide to gather in those wayward travelers with my mossy arms, holding them until the next occasion they need to take flight to experience the unexperienced.  It's good to be mossy - you get more meaningful  hugs!  And you never know, maybe the job offer to be a "senior" ranger at Dinosaur might pan out - the Green grows the kind of moss that reminds you of heritage, and grounds you to the important.