LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW

Back home aGAAAAAAIIN, in In-di-an-ahhh . . .

Nothing like leaving sunny SoCal and traveling to Indianapolis for Xmas with the family.  Two days before we left L.A., it was 72 degrees at 9:00 p.m.!  When we arrived in Indy, it was 4 degrees at the same hour.  This is pretty much what we’ve seen over the last two weeks:

I’ve been using the garage as an al fresco refrigerator for beer and extra food.  To be fair, it HAS gotten as “warm” as freezing here, but only for a few hours.  Naturally, we’re leaving in a couple of days on Wednesday, and it’s scheduled to finally warm up to the 40’s that day, and the 50’s the next.  We’ll probably go back to a cold snap in SoCal.  At least we’ve missed all the rain that’s been drowning California for the last week.  And, of course, we’ve, ah, enjoyed, yeah, that’s it, enjoyed the bliss of a white Christmas here in Indy.

This pastoral scene was repeated three times since we arrived.  We’d get it cleared for two days, then another front would move in and dump several inches.  I kept thinking that this is the way “older” guys get heart attacks, trying to pretend we’re still invincible.  Heck, I had enough reserve left to do something I haven’t done in a quarter century or more:

Yes, I know, it looks more like a deranged Big Bird than Frosty.  Today, a week later, it’s leaning over about 40 degrees, but hanging in there.  I suspect Wednesday’s temps will finish it off.  How do you like those mittens?  I’m wearing gloves underneath.

Indy in the Winter is a bit shy on things to do (come to think of it, Summer isn’t much better), but brother Wayne and his wife, Tina, managed to get us out to a couple of interesting places.  This town is, of course, berserk for all things Colts, so a behind-the-scenes visit to Lucas Oil Stadium was in order.  No marketing slouches in this organization;  entry to the tour was, of course, through the gift shop.  Despite the allure of all the must-have items, Mom, Tina, and the rest of us managed to restrain ourselves until the tour started.

The interior of the place is really impressive, but for all the enclosed volume it seats only 63,000.  There’s a retractable roof that gets opened or closed for any game based upon the Colt’s coach’s call, as long as he makes it at least 90 minutes prior to game time.  After that, it remains in whatever position it was, regardless of subsequent conditions.  It takes about 9 minutes to travel its full movement.  The place is kept at a constant 56 degrees, so it’s none too warm inside except on game day, when all the bodies bring the temperature up.

The seats behind the far end zone in the above picture are where the high rollers sit, at $400 per seat per game.  I’m not at all sure why anyone would pay that much for the view seen below other than for bragging rights about being in the “exclusive” Quarterback club.  There’s a cheap-glitz bar and the seats are no bigger than in the regular sections.  I guess you take your power trips where you can find them.

We Left Coasters, of course, are above that sort of stuff.  We buy the cheapest seats in order to put as much distance between ourselves and our team that usually is stinking up the place.   Ah, yes, we were surprised to find that Stanford was playing Butler in basketball during our stay.  The Butler stadium is where the movie “Hoosiers” was shot, so of course we had to brave the elements and make the scene.

As you can tell by our smiles, at least, this is BEFORE the game started.  My sister Susy, in her Butler blues, was the only one still smiling at the end (boyfriend Dan doesn’t smile as a matter of principle).  Let’s just say that the final score is a lot closer than it would have been had Butler not pulled its starters with plenty of time to go.  Poor Stanford; Final Four glory is but a distant memory.  The women BBers carry the load now.

 

Well, after all, Stanford IS a football school, right?  Orange Bowl, don’t fail me now!  Go Cardinal!

Indy is home to the Eli Lilly Company, the pharm giant.  The Lilly’s are as close to royalty as you get in these parts, so a visit to the Lilly Mansion was in order.

  It’s not exactly the Biltmore Estate, but it’s not at all shabby.  It sits on large grounds with gardens and spaces designed by the Frederick Law Olmstead firm, which did the Biltmore Estate, Central Park, Stanford, etc.  Unfortunately, there’s little to see outdoors in Winter, but the interior was quite nice.  It is a lot smaller than the Biltmore, but by the same measure feels much more like a real home than a Hollywood set for Citizen Kane.  Clockwise, from upper left:  living room, library (which I wanted to transport home), sitting room leading into library, and dining room.  There were numerous exhibits about the history of the house and the Lilly’s.  This was owned by a grandson of the founder of the company, and was built in the 1920’s.

All in all, we had a good time and, clearly, had forgotten the Stanford debacle.  I think Mom looks a bit like the Queen, don’t you? 

Most of our time has been spent indoors.  I’ve finished two books -- “People of the Book” (thank you, Alia), and “Water for Elephants,” both excellent although very different in tone.  Highly recommended.  I’m about halfway through “Path Between The Seas” about the Panama Canal, a super history by David McCullough, and am alternating that with Douglas Adams’ “The Salmon of Doubt,” which is hilarious.  What a tragedy that he died so young.  I’d give anything to be able to write like him.  Loni has spent most of her free time knitting like crazy, and has just finished the latest of a series of 61 Christmas stockings for family members that are a tradition.  I still have mine that Mom knitted nearly 60 years ago.  She’s done the first 58, and this is Loni’s third:

Back in the day, the date was the year of that Christmas, like mine, but for a long time now the tradition has been to put the recipient’s birth year on it.  So, Merry Christmas, Meghan.  Your cover is blown.

Mom has been catsitting Doobey-Doo while Susy is recovering from her cancer surgery.  She’s doing quite well, now, so El Gato gets returned Wednesday morning.  He’s not going to like giving up the softest 87-year old lap in Indiana.

We’re out to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate Susy’s birthday, then it’s back to L.A. with Mom and niece Rachel in tow.  Assuming, that is, that the airlines are back on schedule after canceling 6,000 flights today due to the mess on the East Coast.  Actually, I think I’ll miss the snow just a bit.