Fourth of July was a home grown event this year. We had already been to the beach in North Carolina and were shortly to take off for a cruise to Alaska. Allie made the best of it with a star-spangled dress and a pledge of allegiance.
Allie and Barb went to Patti’s for a sleepover, probably for Christine’s birthday. I was very likely traveling somewhere.
I suspect Christine got a bike for her birthday 
Pizza at Patti’s 
Sleepover time
At around the same time, Larry and Ashley were staying in Ocean City for a week and Barb decided to take Allie down for a day or two. We look for entertainment where we can when Dad’s on the road.
Allie’s afterschool caretaker, Adrienne, had baby Ryann on July 26. Adrienne had been a great friend to Allie and super helpful to us for several years; sometimes it seemed like Allie saw more of Adrienne than either of us. You might think having her own baby meant the end of taking care of Allie but somehow Adrienne kept at it, taking classes and helping periodically with Allie and the kids next door for a while longer. I think Adrienne’s mom looked after Ryan during the day.
Mom and daughter in matching outfits, getting ready for our outing to Orioles Park. I was back in time for this event, yay.
We had such fun at Kids Run the Bases the previous year, we invited Maddie and the Christ kids for the 2001 running.
Allie and Maddie getting ready…happy to skip out of the game a little early 
Larry and Maddie, Barb and Allie, Shelly with Dillon, Spencer and a buddy 
Maddie takes the field…obscuring Allie just in front of her 
Allie and Maddie on deck 
And Allie’s off! 
Allie racing from first to second 
Rounding second 
Rounding third, on the way home 
There’s a backup at the plate 
The buddy, Spencer, Dillon, Allie and Maddie 
From July 22-25 my work had one of its biggest conferences, FutureOp 2001, at Pebble Beach, California. It was a big to-do that was the focus of months of work for me and my group. The event went very well and it was a great relief when it was done.
As a celebration, Barb, Allie and I headed off in August to our grand adventure for the year: a cruise to Alaska. See separate post for details, but here are highlight photos that include us.
Happy to be in Vancouver 
Enjoying Stanley Park 
Waiting to board ship 
Excitement mounts 
I think that’s our ship in the background
Doing the Macarena in the Kids Club 
A chilly morning in August by the glacier
At about the same time we took the Alaska trip, Betsy, Joe and the girls went on a raft expedition on the San Juan River in Utah. Cousin Stewart Aitchison organized the trip with his family and friends. Betsy sent a whole set of photos and thoughtfully captioned them all on the back, so I’ve included the whole set in a separate post. Here are a few highlights.
This was not from same trip, but Betsy, Joe and Sara with Aunt Leona and Uncle Larry in Vail 
Joe and Kristen 
Kristen in the swimming hole 
Betsy canoeing 
Joe and Sara setting up camp 
Sara and Betsy
After we got back from Alaska, we made a stop at Gerard and Chris’s new house under construction in River Hill. They had been living in Columbia on Quarterstaff Road near Hickory Ridge for several years but wanted more space for Chris’s counseling practice. They chose a property at 12040 Distant Thunder Trail and made all the design selections. The house looked great and would be even better once they finished the interior. Seeing how nice their place looked planted the seed to consider building our own house. We ended up stealing a lot of their design ideas a few years later.
Allie’s storied team sports career began in earnest over the summer and fall. We signed her up for various Howard County rec leagues over the years to give her a feel for playing on a team with other kids.
We started with soccer — here she is with her team, the Crew. By the time we got her signed up I guess they didn’t have any more shirts in her size. The games mainly consisted of a swarm of kids clustered around the ball as they moved aimlessly around the field. Coach Brudzinski valiantly tried to instill the concept of passing the ball to one another but it never seemed to work once the whistle blew. The season was over quickly and we learned that the highlight was getting photos and a personal trading card out of the deal. Memories!
Allie in action! 
Riding the bench, waiting her turn 
Fancy footwork! 
Nothing counts unless you get a trophy
Next we tried T-ball, a starter version of baseball. Coach Hatcher was a very patient and friendly man but neither he nor I was able to impart much in the way of baseball skills to our girl. Catching and throwing were a challenge. Hitting the ball off the tee and running the bases were Allie’s favorite parts of the game. The games themselves were interminably long as there were no outs and each team batted every player each of three innings. I recall the games always seeming to be on very hot days and there being no shade.
The official photos and trading cards that came with the league fees were a nice touch.
Proof of participation!
We hoped that one or another sport would grab Allie’s interests. Alas, we fell into the mode of Allie trying a sport for a season (a month or two), and after a season she would figure she had mastered that sport and was ready to move on to the next. Barb repeatedly gave me a hard time that we needed to keep Allie’s nose to the grindstone and work at a sport even if it wasn’t “fun” for that moment. I, the panda dad, was a soft touch and didn’t want to cram a sport down her throat. Barb was probably right, especially in terms of actually mastering a sport and excelling, though eventually, after going through several other sports, Allie would find her way to tennis.
In early August, Barb went to Boston to help recruit new folks for her office at a job fair. She didn’t have many travel assignments and this was an easy one not related to a case. She even had some downtime in Boston and was able to go on a Duck Tour of the city.
At the end of August it was time for Allie to officially start first grade. She went to Centennial Lane Elementary School, one of the best of Howard County’s public schools and one of the main reasons we had moved to Paddington Court from Davidge. The school was less than a mile from our house but far enough away to be on the school bus route. We’d already done her school supplies shopping and got all her supplies in place on orientation day so she didn’t have anything to carry in on the first official day of class. We were all excited for her first day getting on the bus.
Allie’s ready early 
The other neighborhood kids gather 
Waiting her turn 
And she’s off!
First grade classes went until 2:30pm and Barb had lined up afterschool care for Allie at La Petite Academy just a bit further up the road. When the time came, there was confusion about which bus Allie was to board despite Barb’s firm instructions to the CLES staff. Allie told her teacher, Mr. Sangiovanni that she was supposed to go to La Petite but he later admitted he didn’t believe her and put her on the wrong bus. It dropped her off at home but neither of us would be home from work for hours.
Allie was upset to find that no one was home but eventually planted herself on the front step to wait. Very fortunately, our neighbor’s little boy noticed Allie sitting all alone weeping quietly and told Adrienne, the childcare helper we shared. Adrienne called Barb and said, “It’s alright, Mrs. Duncan, Allie is fine.” Barb said “What?” and started to piece together what happened. Barb stormed home, livid with the school but very thankful to Adrienne. Mr. Sangiovanni got an earful and was deeply embarrassed but retained his job and paid special attention to Allie (and Barb) for the rest of the year. Somehow we all survived and Allie settled into first grade at CLES and La Petite.
A few weeks went by before it was Tuesday, September 11, 2001. We had begun to settle into a routine; the day was cool, gloriously blue and clear. Barb and I were each at work; I was hosting a first meeting of new Spirent colleagues from California and Hawaii. We had just started and it was not even 9am when news started filtering around my work that a plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York. Initial word was that it was a small Cessna or private plane and cameras started showing the plume of smoke rising from the tower. When the second jet hit at 9:03am, my colleague Phyllis Kellner pulled out a small portable TV she kept at work and we gathered round to watch. Then the Pentagon was hit at 9:37am and things were suddenly very close to home. Everyone got very nervous, not knowing whether to make a run for home, stay in place or look for something that resembled a bomb shelter.
Word quickly filtered through news and radio reports to shelter in place (a phrase I don’t think I’d heard before). Allie’s school, like all schools, went into a lockdown. I connected with Barb but we had no alternative other than to stay where we were and see what happened next. Rumors and misinformation started to fly as all planes in the country were ordered to land immediately. America was under attack but there was no guessing how widespread or coordinated the attacks might be. Word filtered out that a fourth plane may have crashed in Pennsylvania and that other planes might still be in the air and been seized by hijackers.
At my office we watched in horror as the first tower of the World Trade Center collapsed at 9:59am after barely an hour of burning. The second tower followed barely 30 minutes later. It was an incomprehensible sight, followed by ghastly clouds of debris and shots of terror-stricken workers caked in grey deathly dust.
The terror of anticipating more strikes, compounded by misinformation and rumors flying around the TV, radio and internet reports continued through the morning and into the afternoon. Dick Cheney declared himself in charge in the White House bunker while George Bush was flying around somewhere on Air Force One — neither of those facts inspired more confidence.
At some point in the mid-afternoon it seemed that there were no more immediate attacks and we were given clearance to leave the office and head home. I sent my California and Hawaii colleagues back to their hotels as they wondered how long they would be stranded in Maryland, a long way from their homes and families. I can’t remember if Barb or I made it to Allie’s school first, so it was probably Barb. They released her from lockdown and we made it home together in a world that had changed.
Everything shut down for the rest of that week. No work, no school, most shops and businesses were shuttered. I stayed glued to news channels for updates, Barb mostly stayed away from news and kept Allie occupied as best she could. The skies and roads were eerily silent for days. No planes flew; you don’t realize their background noise and contrail impact until they’re gone. My California and Hawaii colleagues were stuck in their hotels for the rest of the week and were finally able to fly home the next weekend. Some other colleagues that had been in meetings in Kansas City rented a car and drove back over deserted roads barely stopping, just swapping drivers.
I think school and work resumed the following week but everyone was shellshocked. Regular activities resumed tentatively and very somberly. Wall Street reopened September 17, baseball games resumed the next day. By the time Saturday Night Live returned on September 29 with a memorable episode, life seemed ready to resume in a new normal.
In a holdover from summer activities, The Washington Post listed the members of its Summer Reading Club, featuring “Allie Fisher”. That’s our girl. Barb signed her up and we’ll say she was protecting Allie’s identity. I’m not sure what Allie read for the club, but I’m sure that Barb made sure she did, plus Allie was always a very interested reader. We always tried to encourage that.
The weeks after 9/11 slowly went by and eventually it was Allie’s 6th birthday on October 5. We (mostly Barb) had organized a party at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, having reserved the day far in advance. We went ahead with the party and I don’t think anyone canceled out. I think we all wanted to lift the mood and celebrate something.
Getting ready for festivities with Katie 
“Allie Duncan as Britany Spers //
Bill Duncan as Super Dad”
More chalk art at the aquarium 
Allie with Christine, Patti, Trish Mockapetris and a blond girl 
Let’s start things off with a snack 
Everyone got a little dolphin buddy
The kids got a full guided tour of the aquarium, from the rain forest up top to the shark tank and living reef.
The girls got a guided tour of the aquarium 
Christine, Maddie, Katie, Allie, Trish and two blond girls 
Touring the shark tank and living reef 
Crossing the bridge over to the dolphin show
The whole crew marched over to the dolphin tanks in a separate building for the show. We had special reserved seating in the front row.
Jimmy and Deviyani were there too 
Front row: ready for the show 
Hello dolphin, hello lady 
As part of the package, the birthday girl got to participate in the show, heading down to pet and feed the dolphins. It was pretty cool at the time but now the whole idea of making dolphins perform for audiences has been discredited and is no longer done, at least at the National Aquarium.
Allie getting instructions and boots 
Heading down to the tank 
These boots were not made for stairs 
Allie with the trainer 
On the big screen 
Into the water 
Hike up that dress 
Dolphin petting
After the dolphin show, the party resumed in one of the aquarium’s special rooms where we had cake and wrapped things up.
Finishing off with cake 
And goodie bags 
The happy hostess 
How all successful birthday parties should end
By the middle of the month, I was back to traveling and managed to miss Barb’s birthday. Flowers would have to do. At around the same time, Barb took Allie to a special Harry Potter exhibit at Port Discovery in Baltimore. At this point in 2001, the first four books had been published and Barb consumed them all. I’m not quite sure when Allie started reading them…hard to believe it was when she was just 6, but maybe so. The first film came out the following month in November, 2001. In any case, Allie enjoyed the exhibit enough to write a thank you note in appreciation.
It was a princess and a bunny kind of Halloween. Also, Allie’s first trip to Boo at the Zoo, a pre-Halloween event at the DC National Zoo.
Allie with our pumpkins at Paddington 
With Maureen Hoyer 
Checking out her haul 
Goofy grins and one missing tooth 
Allie with her Halloween glow stick
This was the time when Allie’s baby teeth began giving way to her permanent ones. It seemed like every few weeks prompted a visit from the tooth fairy.
Time to rake up the autumn leaves with Aunt Nancy, always one of Allie’s favorite activities.
Allie took introductory piano lessons at a music school off Bethany Lane, near home. Like her sports career, this was an exercise in exposing her to a musical instrument to see if she would take to it. It sparked the same arguments between Barb and me over how much we needed to push her to practice; I guess I sort of won the argument with the result that Allie soon lost interest and dropped the lessons, confident she had learned all she needed to know.
Allie’s class at Centennial Lane put on a holiday concert (or two, based on the different outfits) which we dutifully attended.
On December 15, Barb and Stephanie took Allie and Kristin to attend a Kids’ Christmas concert with the Baltimore Symphony. Culture!
The concert included a visit with Santa!
Another 2001 Santa visit, solo this time
Allie and her 1st grade class participated in her school’s Winter Concert.
Allie went over to Katie’s house for a Christmas party with Devayani.
Betsy sent these photos of Embrey wintry activities.
Kristen and Sara in October 
Christmas near a skating pond at Evergreen, CO 
Kristen outside the main entrance building to the skating pond 
Kristen all decked out at her Winter Ballet Recital 
Our own Christmas at home yielded a bunch of nice pictures of Allie and me, so thanks to Barb! A fine time was had.
Next Post: 2002 First Half
Previous Post: 2001 First Half
You must be logged in to post a comment.