August 22, 2005

• Charles is now in residence at Texas Tech’s Weymouth Hall, Don and I
  having driven to Lubbock late Saturday, and Charles following yesterday
  morning.

  We didn’t want to do a to-and-from in one day, and he had a concert to
  attend with friends on Saturday night, so drove up yesterday morning.

  

  The official entrance to Texas Tech, which is also the alma mater of my
  sister, Elaine, as well as where my brother, Louis, earned his law
  degree.

  

  The Red Raider football stadium.  Don says they’re finally getting some national recognition.

  

  A sneak peek with my camera phone at Charles waiting for the elevator
  so as to take some stuff up to his ninth floor dorm room.  It took
  a looong time to try to get the stuff from the van to the room, seeing
  as how each student was permitted only thirty minutes in the close-in
  parking for this task, and most of them – like Charles – had TV’s,
  microwaves, refrigerators, and computers in addition to bedding and
  clothing, and there was only one elevator working, so the lines tended
  to be lengthy and the wait interminable.

  Why some enterprising student organization such as a fraternity doesn’t
  arrange to shuttle an incoming student’s goods from car to room for a
  reasonable fee, beats me.  Our definition of “reasonable” would
  have been generous yesterday, believe me.  They’re leaving serious
  money on the table.  Don and I worked it out on the drive home . .
  . they’d get access to the dorm rooms either before or after (or maybe
  both) the “public” access, reservations would be made in advance,
  they’d have flatbeds such as department stores use, and would meet the
  student and his family in the close-in parking lot, then unload the
  stuff in the car(s) onto the flatbed and haul it up to the room and
  unload it.

  I’d have paid from fifty to a hundred bucks for such service.

  Charles felt I’d used up my photo opportunities on Friday evening at
  his send-off party, so I don’t have any decent pictures of him, drat
  it.  Most depressing, but not unexpected.  He met up with a
  friend he made at the New Student Orientation three weeks ago, Bobby,
  and this is them getting into Charles’ car so they could go get him his
  parking permit….unfortunately Charles’ leg is all that’s visible:

  

  Bobby seemed quite nice, BTW.  It was a trifle dampening having
  him present as we made our farewells to our son, but that’s life.

  BTW, Dmitry was informed last night that I’ve come up with a new “life
  plan” for him……he’s to stay at home and be a support and comfort to
  his mama, and not to go traipsing off to outlandish places like
  Lubbock.  

  • 9:09 am
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