Pops, our oldest, Eric, and I traveled to our youngest son’s college for his junior recital several weeks ago. Oberlin Music Conservatory outside of Cleveland Ohio. Do you ever find yourself spending time in a place somewhere far from your life? Ya get to know the place. And it’s just a place in the midst of thousands of other places. The other places you will probably never see in your life but for one reason or another your life circumstances have taken you there. One of our sons went to a military school in the middle of nowhere in Ontario, Canada. We traveled there often over the course of 18 months. It’s a place I would never in my wildest dreams thought I would spend time, let alone get to know pretty well. Life takes me places and sometimes I ask, why this place? Why not that place? What is that place I will never go?
The past three years we have found ourselves visiting Oberlin, Ohio. Tiny, tiny town. Oberlin is a very “liberal” liberal arts college. A tad too liberal for my taste, but it is what my son feels he needs in this time of his life. Makes my heart hurt. I love ya, baby. They have to grow up sometime, dont they? I donlikit. But I will take what I can get. Overall, this college choice has been pretty spot on whether I like it or not.
Oberlin is a darling town with much collegiate history and a college of “firsts”. They were the first college to admit female AND black students. Pretty progressvie,eh? The oldest operating music conservatory in the country. It was founded by Presbyterian ministers. Where did they wander off to?? During the civil war, it was an active underground railroad location. The proprietor of the B and B we stayed in showed us the trap door in the kitchen used for the slaves to slip down into to hide.
B and B in Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin Campus
Charlie’s recital was Saturday night. We had the opportunity to be his gophers for the day in preparation for the big shewww. His show was a combination of his own composed and recorded music, his produced videos and dance movement projected onto a big screen. He nailed it. He rented out racquet ball courts for the show which was a great idea and worked well.
I took 557 photos that weekend. The images that were being projected onto the screen by his movements and lighting were stunning. Great artistic inspiration for my own art hopefully.
His little wheels are spinnin’
Eric helping, err, I mean resting. Actually he did help.
It was a great weekend. We got to hang out with all of Charlie’s best buds. We missed the fact that our middle son, Sam, could not be with us. He is busy working hard to protect you and me from dangggga. Thank you, Sam, for sticking your neck out for us.
Have a super weekend.
God bless,
Karen
The Shieling 