September 4, 2017
Our Dear Friends and Family,
Skyline Chili, Labor Day Fireworks over the Cincinnati skyline, & Graeter’s Ice Cream: we feel like we’ve really seen the city with our hosts the Halls!
Anna spoke at Hope Baptist Church, yesterday. She did a bang up job! She shared an eloquent letter by Courtney Baker to her doctor: he had advised Courtney to abort her unborn baby because the child has down syndrome. According to ABC News the mother wrote:
“I’m not angry. I’m not bitter. I’m really just sad. I’m sad the tiny beating hearts you see every day don’t fill you with a perpetual awe. I’m sad the intricate details and the miracle of those sweet little fingers and toes, lungs and eyes and ears don’t always give you pause. I’m sad you were so very wrong to say a baby with Down syndrome would decrease our quality of life. And I’m heartbroken you might have said that to a mommy even today. But I’m mostly sad you’ll never have the privilege of knowing my daughter, Emersyn.”
We love this story: it’s the truth. Children are a blessing, and it is criminal for doctors to try to use fear mongering to rob parents of their future joys.
After the service, Hope Baptist has an Acts style potluck, which was a blast. We always meet the neatest people! Megan and I talked to Jack Fenner: an 89 year old CSI investigator, professor of 40 years, engineer, court room cross-examiner, author, and psychologist. Potlucks are the best. In an attempt to get the recipe for a fudge oatmeal cake, I got fed traditional Iranian Almond cookies by a recent immigrant, who also attempted to feed me a great quantity of pudding. Adorable.
For supper, Pastor Hall and his family took us out for Skyline Chili; it’s a Cincinnati thing. Three-way spaghetti, specifically. It’s a pre-natal midnight snack gone viral. Spaghetti base, then chili layered on, and then a cup of shredded cheddar. Throw in a tiny Coney dog and you’re native. Megan was brave enough to try the accompanying oyster crackers and impossibly hot Tobacco sauce you pour on them.
After supper, we went our with Mrs. Hall and Abigail Hall for Graeter’s Ice Cream. It’s the most requested ice cream for the White House; their Buckeye is sublime. By happy coincidence, the Labor Day fireworks were going on as we toured downtown. The Ohio River was a constellation of multi-colored lit sail boats on the dark water. Cincinnati is the tri-state area: so, sitting on the bridge over the boats, we were sharing the spectacular show with Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. It felt like a truly American experience.
All our love!
Sarah-Marie Hoduski