Greetings from afar! I must confess, I have no Edgecomb news except that Bruce and Jo Cameron have participated in the Last Great Harry Potter Party at a Barnes & Noble bookstore in a mall in West Chester, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio.
And what were we doing there, pray? Our younger daughter, Bisi Yee (known as Cam to her friends) is an assistant manager at this bookstore, and in charge of organizing the LGHPP referred to above. We were there for moral support, as was nearly the entire family of her in-laws. Bruce performed as Professor Albus Dumbledore, beloved Head of Hogwarts Academy. I was Professor McGonigle, the Assistant Head.
We presided over 13 "classrooms" featuring games inspired by the Hogwarts curriculum, e.g. Feeding Fluffy (a ferocious three-headed dog who guarded the Sorcerer's Stone in HP volume 1) by tossing milkbones into each of his three open maws. Or harvesting mandrake, said to scream when pulled up. Ours were mute mandrakes (aka ginger roots) which did not scream. Students had to walk on air (bubble wrap) as a pre-requisite to flight school. They had to pin the horn on the unicorn for Mythical Beast class and design their own constellations for Astronomy. Potions class drew on high school chemistry, acid to base reaction (lemon juice to baking soda with some coloring matter). Charms were written backwards, then read orrectly in a mirror. Amulets could be fashioned from beach glass in a netting pouch. The Great Hogwarts Mail Owl Race featured two stuffed toy owls harnessed on fish line. The party made use of many simple ideas dressed up in magical mystique which the truly impressive crowds of children with their elders found fun and challenging to play. Professor Dumbledore granted diplomas to each child successfully (or even not) completing the course of studies. And then, at one minute past midnight, everyone was lined up to buy his copy of Volume 7, HP and the Deathly Hallows. Some of us did not get to bed until after 2:00 a.m.!
Of course, now that it is over, we are sitting around saying "Now what?" Harry joins the great parade of children's fantasies along with Aslan and the Psammead and Robin Hood, Pippi Longstocking, Dorothy, and the Brothers Grimm.
Our non-Harry Potter moments were spent revisiting the neighborhood where we used to live, the really great downtown area of Cincinnati, and dining on Cincinnati favorites like Skyline Chili 5-Way, Cheese Coneys, and a selection of metts and brats on the barby. Cincinnati Chili is like no other, seasoned with spices like cinnamon and allspice, a recipe invented, legend has it, by a Bulgarian or Greek immigrant in the 1920s. The basic order is the chili beef sauce over spaghetti; a 3-way adds shredded cheddar, a 4-way adds either beans or chopped onion; a 5-way uses them both. A Coney Island is the hotdog associated with the famous beach near New York City, which was mysteriously transformed into an equally famous amusement park on the way to Dayton. (Coney Islands are mentioned in the movie Paper Moon.) Metts and Brats are wursts, sausage varieties invented or perfected by the long-standing German community on which Cinci is largely based.
Ah well, by the time you all read this, I will be back at 234 River Road, 633-2978, jocam@midcoast.com. This column appears in several local papers, and at www.Edgecomb.org.