Christmas Letter 2009

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

CHRISTMAS LETTER 2009

     I began 2009 waiting for word about the New England Journal competition I had entered. The notification that someone else won extended my break from writing my novel.  I finally returned to writing, and have set up some writing goals for the first half of 2010.

     While stalled on the novel, I continued writing, as my blog’s many posts testify to.

     While Monte attended the wrestling matches in State College, I explored the town. The college library, where I wanted to do some research, was

A Weekend in State College, Pennsylvania: Part 2

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

A WEEKEND IN STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA

Part 2    

 

In this second part of the tales of our weekend in State College, PA, you will read about the downtown parking garage, a conversation in a store, and a meeting with Arlene at the College Buffet, a Chinese restaurant.     We were in State College on the weekend of March 7-9, 2009, where my husband, Monte, was attending the Big Ten wrestling competition at Bryce Jordan Center. I was doing my own relaxing activities, which produced the three reports below.
     Unfortunately, I did not get to visit the Penn State library, one of my destinations, because Penn State was closed due to spring break. I was impressed by the campus, however, and its beauty, and the walk to the library building was very enjoyable. I was also impressed by the scenery surrounding State College—a valley surrounded by mountains.
     To read Part 1 of this post, our experience at the Corner Room Restaurant, the Diner and Schlow Library, click on: A Weekend in State College, Pennsylvania: Part 1

THE PARKING GARAGE
     Keith and Edna had recommended that I park in the parking garage while I explored State College’s downtown area that afternoon, since it was difficult to find a parking place along the metered street parking, and parking tickets came with a mighty steep fine.
     At the parking garage, when I took a ticket from a machine when I entered the structure, I heard a voice message from the ticket machine, telling me

A Weekend in State College, Pennsylvania: Part 1

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

A WEEKEND IN STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA

Part 1

     On the weekend of March 7-9, 2009, my husband, Monte, and I headed to Pennsylvania State University at State College, PA. Monte, a former wrestler in high school and at Union College in Schenectedy, New York, had tickets for the Big Ten Wrestling competition at Bryce Jordan Center. He wore his Northwestern University (Chicago, Ill.) shirt and rooted for them. I accompanied him on this trip, and while he was at the wrestling competition, I went Christmas and birthday shopping.
      Part 1 of this two-part article describes experiences at the Corner Room Restaurant, the Diner, and Schlow Library. Part 2 will be on the downtown parking garage, a conversation in a store, and a meeting with Arlene.

THE CORNER ROOM RESTAURANT
     “Are you the Hollands?”
     Monte and I were sitting in a booth at The Corner Room Restaurant in State College, Pennsylvania, on Saturday morning, waiting for the couple we had planned to meet