- Mort and Agnes could hardly believe what they heard. Mike implied that he and Inge would be getting married, perhaps soon. After all, they were smart, mature adults who knew themselves well. Not like many people in their teens and twenties, who would be well advised to take their time before making such an important commitment to themselves and their selected life partner.
- Mike was ready to change the topic of conversation. "Your mom, dad and I will be talking more about that later. Look," he gestured upward, out the window, "more pointer birds. Those are geese flying south for the winter. See how they form a V?"
- "Tell me more about the Thanksgiving project," Mike requested when Mike came over one evening and the twins were in their rooms doing homework.
- "Be happy to, Dad. So long as you promise to tell US more about you and Inge," Agnes said with a wink and a big smile.
- "Sounds fair," Mike replied.
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- Thanksgiving Weekend Plans
- "Ok. Here's the background," Agnes began.
- She told Mike how their children's school teamed up over the years with another school in an underprivileged neighborhood to share any extra books or materials they might have. They also participated in joint projects, such as science fairs and field trips.
- The community in the sharing school's district had no hospital; the closest medical clinic was several miles away, too far for most folks there to access easily. A construction company located near the Maloney's school offered to plan and supervise the reconstruction of an abandoned department store in the sharing school's neighborhood. It would be transformed into a health care education and treatment facility. The company offered to donate some of the materials if members of the community would donate their labor. The construction company was been working with the city, and the building had already passed the necessary safety inspections. The launch of the sharing project would be the four-day weekend of Thanksgiving.
- "You know how I feel about fundraisers, Dad. I truly feel that this kind of project gives more tangible results on a local level than running in a marathon. Since we're planning on serving a big Thanksgiving Dinner at their local soup kitchen, the weekend project will help us work off some of those pumpkin and pecan pie calories!"
- "That sounds like a very worthwhile project. And you're right. You'll be able to see the results right away. Inge and I would like to participate in the whole weekend with all of you," Mike stated, matter-of-factly.
- "Are you sure about that, Dad?" Mort asked, hoping his father would explain his confidence that Inge would be willing to donate her time and energy for this project over the Thanksgiving holiday.
- "Absolutely. Let me give you some background on Inge."
- More About Inge
- Mike described how fascinated he and Inge were with each other from the moment they met. Yes, it has only been two months, he told them, but with e-mail, Instant Messaging, cell phone, Skype and even online networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, it is more like two years.
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- "Dad, you have Facebook and LinkedIn accounts?"
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- "Sure do, Aggie, for about a month now."
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- Mike then told them that Inge was born in Norway, in Trondheim, which is close to the Arctic Circle. She went to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and earned a master's degree in marine archeology. She was particularly interested in shipwrecks, which is why she was in Door County; she had joined a group of divers exploring some of the sunken ships along the "Death's Door" corridor we passed on the ferry.
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- Agnes wanted to know how Inge came to the U.S. and found her way to the midwest.
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- Mike explained that her husband was a civil engineer who worked on deep port projects throughout the world. He contracted a rare form of cancer, possibly as a result of his long stays in areas of the world that had little sanitation. They came to the midwest in search of treatment at several of the best hospitals in the world, but the disease was too far advanced for him to be cured. After he died, Inge decided to move permanently to Wisconsin and pursue her marine archeology interests in the waters of Lake Michigan.
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- "Fascinating!" Agnes exclaimed. "You know how intrigued Mal was with Death's Door. They'll probably have lots to talk about."
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- Mike was relieved to hear the enthusiasm in Agnes's voice. It seemed to him that she had already accepted Inge as part of the family. He worried about Mort, however. A son's relationship is different from that of a daughter-in-law.
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- "You've been pretty quiet there, Mort. What do you say about all this?"
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- "Truth be told..." Mort began, then hesitated. "Actually...I think she's the finest lady I've ever met, except for Mom and Agnes, of course. I'm really happy for you."
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- Mike was relieved. He knew his son well enough to know that Mort genuinely mean what he said.
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- "You are both very important to me; so are your children. I'm sorry that Mal and Mel didn't have a chance to know their grandmother. Strong, fine woman, as you know. They could have learned a lot from her. Mort, I'm sure you miss your mother too, as I have. Her eyes are surely smiling down from heaven on all of us right now."
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iNTRODUCTION TO BOOK 2
INTRODUCTION TO THE BIOFABLES SERIES
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