Hans & Yvonne search for Floyd of Rosedale

Yesterday we were invited to the home of Billy's godparents, Tom & Carol. Tom continues to puzzle Billy and Carol tutors Billy whenever she can and assists him with his double negatives. Tom and Carol live in a spacious English Tudor replete with a jungle room that has a giraffe peering over the balcony. In the back yard is a train set that brings a tear to Billy's eye every time he comes to visit. Also in the back yard is a bigger than life statue of Herky. Herky is the mascot of the Iowa Buckeyes. Just your typical home in suburban Cedar Rapids.

Tom & Carol went to the Buckeye game to see if Floyd would come home. Sharing the ride was Tommy & Diane. They are both retired. Tommy was a partner in a alphabet advertising agency. His firm designed the Tiger Hawk which is the symbol of the Buckeyes ( You would think an acorn would have more fitting) and every time an embossed article of clothing or cup or poster is sold....he receives a royalty. Tom has purchased a plantation in southern Florida from the residuals. Diane is retired from the CIA and that is all I'm allowed to say.

Two more Buckeye fans are Hans and Yvonne. They traveled all the way from Sweden for the event.


Hans is Billy's hero. You see Billy would like to be in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first person to ever Pole Vault in an iron lung. Hans is an engineer and a former Olympic Champion Pole Vaulter, but has not been able to come up with a plan for this feat. Yvonne has known Hans for about six years after a coincidental reunion at a sporting event. She does heart transplants when she is back in Sweden. In her spare time, she knits wool mittens.

We all gathered around the island in the kitchen, making a concentrated effort to drain every last ounce of booze from the the household. A monumental task considering Tom's stock. A vodka purchased in Italy, by the name of Viking, was particularly appreciated for its smoothness. Hans, a man of slight build, was consuming copious amounts of Wild Turkey and eggnog, while Yvonne did her best to keep the vineyards of Australia in business. We actually would have succeeded had we not ran out of ice.

At a time certain, the Godfather did one of his acrobatic tricks from which he recovered quicker than you can say "cryptoquote" and it wasn't long after, that that Audrey was designated to tuck him in for the night.

It was then that we learned that Hans or 'Hasse' as Yvonne calls him, sometimes has to vie for here attention in competition with Dante. Dante is Yvonne's black lab. Billy wanted her to know about his designer dog, Snatches. We tried to explain how she got her name....but somehow it got lost in the translation. Probably just as well as the ice was gone, the host was asleep and the rest of the party was wishing they were in dreamland as well.