Yesterday afternoon, Pam and I went to Convoy, Ohio, for a wedding shower. My niece, Paula, is getting married on June 24 to Tom, a guy I wholeheartedly approve of. I, of course, was not invited to the shower. Pam was, though. So I dropped her and Mom off at the Convoy United Brethren Church, and then went over to the parsonage (where my brother Stu lives), to hang out with my two brothers, Tom, and Stu's sons Benjamin and Jonathan. There was, among us, no sense of being "left out" of the festivities (i. e., silly little games) which are allegedly common at bridal showers. We, instead, talked about computers and dogs, and did some grunting.

Benjamin, who is 21, bought a house in Willshire, about 20 miles away. It's a two-story house sitting on three lots, with a separate brick building. This place is a true fixer-upper, but when you realize he got the thing for just $10 grand, it's a steal. Fortunately, Benjamin knows handyman-type stuff; Stu seems to have hogged all of Dad's handyman genes, since me and Rick sure didn't get any of them. Anyway, Benjamin took me (and my brother Rick) over to his house. Yeah, the thing is torn to pieces, with stuff everywhere. Benjamin sleeps on a couch in what will be the living room. But I say--good for him! He's willing to put all the work into totally renovating this house, and when he's done, it's gonna be worth a whole lot more than he paid for it.

The shower ended, and I did get some leftover cake. Paula and Tom hauled their loot upstairs. I guess they're looking for a house to rent. Better hurry.

Back in Fort Wayne, Rick, Dorene, and their two kids stopped by our house. We ordered the aforementioned Hungry Howie's pizza, which they'd never had. Pizza, regardless of brand, always works at Dennie gatherings. Rick and I were both bummed to learn that the Lakers had taken a 3-1 lead over the Phoenix Suns. This just can't happen. Kobe cannot be validated.