Surprising a Long-Time Friend

Susan and I haven't seen our friend Susan Koozin in around 25 years. We all used to live in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where we did theatre (acting together, being directed in plays by one another) and became great friends. When Susan K.'s husband, Tim, a music professor, got a job at the University of Houston, they moved to Houston. We have stayed in touch via social media, but we haven't visited in person since they moved away.

Until this weekend.

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Susan K. has made quite a name for herself on the theatre scene in Houston. Recently Susan M. and I saw on Facebook that Susan K. would be playing the lead role in a play at the Alley Theatre, a major regional theater in Houston. She and I looked at each other, paused, and said, "Should we go?"

So we bought tickets to the play, bought plane tickets, and made hotel reservations. We didn't tell Susan K. that we were coming ... we just went. The Lancaster Hotel is right across the street--so once we had taken a Lyft from the airport to the hotel and checked in (Friday afternoon), we walked only a few yards to supper at Birraporetti's and then just down the sidewalk to the theater.

The play was a new stage adaptation of Agatha Christie's murder mystery The Mirror Crack'd, and Susan K. played the lead role, Miss Marple, the amateur sleuth who solves the mystery. Even had we not known Susan K., Susan M. and I would have loved the show. It had great production values, the acting was impressive, and the mystery was engaging (and new to us because we had never read the novel).

After the show, we went out into the alley and waited by the stage door. When Susan K. emerged, Susan M. called out her name; and when it registered with Susan K. just whom she was looking at (us!), she had the greatest reaction of surprise!

Kevin, Susan K., and Susan M. outside the stage door in the alley of the Alley Theatre. The surprise was a success!

Susan K. autographed our program, signing as "the other Susan Lynn" (both she and Susan M. have the same middle name).

A bonus: our friends Chad and Audrey Donner live just a couple hours north of Houston, so we arranged to see them, too, while we were in the area. In fact, Chad and Audrey reserved a room at the same hotel ... and bought themselves tickets to the show Friday night!

However, we didn't get to see much of them until yesterday. We had breakfast together at the hotel, visited the Downtown Aquarium, and enjoyed cocktails and snacks at the Lyric Bar in the afternoon. In the evening, we joined them for drinks at Gloria's Latin Cuisine.

downtown Houston

Susan M. and Kevin

Ron, Susan K., Kevin, Susan M., and Tim

Susan K. had shows at 2:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M. yesterday. When we parted Friday night, she said that we should meet her at the stage door around 4:30 P.M. after her first show the next day (yesterday), and she would take us to a restaurant to meet up with Tim and with Susan K.'s dad, Ron Oltmanns, who happened to be in town from Las Vegas, Nevada, where he now lives. What a treat: Susan M. and I knew Ron, too, from our Grand Forks days because we were all members of the same church.

Susan K. drove us to The Original Ninfa's, where Ron and Tim were already waiting. The food was great, but the company was even better. It was so fun to catch up and notice how easily we picked up right where we had left off a couple decades earlier. The time together was way, way too brief, but it was all a bonus anyway. We're so grateful that Susan K. could make time for us in between shows.

Many thanks to Chad and Audrey for driving us to the airport this morning on their way back home. It was an impromptu vacation that lasted just for a night, a day, and a morning; but it was a terrific weekend with terrific people.

North Dakotans in Tennessee

After Suzanna's two-week visit to North Dakota with her dog, Zoey, they returned to Tennessee last weekend with Susan joining them in the vehicle for the drive back. Suzanna and her fiancé, Jacob, will marry in October of 2026, and Susan has spent this past week with Suzanna, helping her with preliminary wedding planning. I worked most of the week but left early on Thursday to fly to Nashville so that I could join them for a long weekend.

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Susan, Suzanna, and Hillary

Suzanna had been living in Murfreesboro, a suburb south of Nashville, where she teaches high school. When Hillary moved to Tennessee, she lived with Suzanna because Hillary also works in Murfreesboro. However, Suzanna recently moved to Antioch, a neighborhood of Nashville, where Jacob owns a townhome; and Hillary moved into a townhome of her own in Murfreesboro ... her first time living without parents or roommates! Susan and Suzanna drove down from Antioch one evening for a mani/pedi date with Hillary.

Suzanna and Jacob took Susan to tour the wedding venue: Owen Farm, located about 30 miles west of Nashville in a scenic location with lots of trees and rolling hills overlooking the Cumberland River. They were impressed with the views, the amenities, and the hospitality of the owners, who have made Suzanna and Jacob feel confident that they chose well.

When I flew in on Thursday, Hillary picked me up at the airport and took me to two of our favorite spots to eat: Hattie B's for some famous Nashville "hot chicken" followed by Bobbie's Dairy Dip for some milkshakes.

Zoey and I were reunited after a week of being apart! She's so danged sweet.

On Friday, I, too, got a tour of the wedding venue. (Tears were shed. By me.) And then we drove back to Nashville and headed downtown so that we could tour Jacob's office building. He works for Amazon in one of two office towers they have built in the Nashville Yards development. Jacob showed us some of the highlights throughout the building, including this observation deck on the 20th floor, where employees can have meetings or just get some fresh air and enjoy the views.

Jacob, Susan, Kevin, and Suzanna

Pardon the squinty eyes ... the sun was doing the most, but we wanted a pic from the observation deck with downtown Nashville in the background.

Suzanna and Jacob

Hillary, Kevin, and Susan

For supper, we had a delicious meal--and fantastic margaritas--at Rosepepper, a restaurant in East Nashville that specializes in Sonoran-style Mexican cuisine, which uses flour tortillas more than corn, beef more than other meats, and spices in the sauces more than in the main dishes. We followed that with a nightcap at Mickey's Tavern, one of Suzanna and Jacob's favorites.

Zoey on Hillary's guest bed

On Saturday we invaded Hillary's new townhome in Murfreesboro with coffee and donuts to start a day of helping with I-just-moved-into-a-new-place tasks. Those ranged from moving boxes to mounting a TV on the wall to hanging shelves to shopping for, and putting together, furniture.

In the middle of the day, we paused to meet Susan's sister, Cassie, and her kids, Davis and Marly, for dinner at Bad Daddy's Burger Bar. They and Nick (Cassie's husband/Davis and Marly's dad) live in Murfreesboro, too.

Hillary has a spacious two-story home with two bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms. She already had the guest bedroom set up and ready for Susan and me to spend the night (see photo of Zoey above). Her furniture acquisitions included a couch for the living room and a dining room table. (Actually, Suzanna and Jacob were inspired during the day's furniture shopping, so they bought a new dining set for themselves, and Hillary will buy their old one from them!)

This morning we ate brunch at Noshville, a New York-style delicatessen in Nashville. The food was delicious; highlights were the "everything" bagels with flavored cream cheese (e.g., chive, caper), the deli omelet (with corned beef and pastrami), and the potato pancakes topped with sour cream and apple sauce.

Then we stopped by the GreenHouse bar, which is literally a bar inside a greenhouse. See the photo above: that's Susan and I standing near a table placed in the midst of hanging plants, potted plants on the pebbled ground, and shelves of plants around the perimeter. The cocktails were great, but the unusual setting was the main attraction.

Then we went to Puttshack, a high-tech mini golf establishment at which each golf ball has a computer chip in it to identify it as your own. When you set it down on a tee, the computer screen above that hole displays your name and score, and it tracks your strokes and points at that hole, too.

I must humbly admit that I did indeed win the game. (However, when prompted to key in my name at the start of the game, I entered "Manolo, King of the Cheese-Filled Pastry" ... so the final screen displayed Manolo, not Kevin, as the winner. Lesson learned.)

Then it was time for Susan and me to fly back to North Dakota. There were the customary airport hugs, kisses, tears, and waves through the glass windows until we had gotten through security and could no longer be seen by the girls and Jacob. What a lovely week for Susan and weekend for me!

Tennesseans in North Dakota

Since moving to Tennessee, Suzanna has made an annual road trip back to North Dakota in June or July during her summer break from the school year. She drives so that she can bring her sweet dog, Zoey, to visit us, too! Here are some highlights from Suzanna's two-week stay with us this summer.

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Suzanna and Zoey arrived on Saturday, June 21. On each visit, it takes Zoey no time to get re-acclimated to our house (and the sound of the refrigerator's cheese drawer opening in the kitchen). Zoey alternates between being rambunctious and cuddly. I love playing with her, but I really love snuggling with her.

We know Zoey is here for a visit when we see the pile of dog toys and canine paraphernalia stacked up in front of the china hutch. Here, Zoey has the tennis ball ready for a game of keep-away, if only I will put down the camera.

While Suzanna was here, she and Susan, both secondary school educators, attended a professional development workshop for teachers. It was offered by Bismarck State College and involved three days (June 24-26) of hands-on experience in a variety of career areas, like robotics, unmanned aircraft systems (drones), cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and mass communication. The aim was for teachers to be able to help their students make decisions about their career options after graduation.

One of those nights, the college gave participating teachers tickets to a Bismarck Larks baseball game. Susan and Suzanna took me as their guest, and we had a meal and some drinks at the Bismarck Municipal Ballpark while enjoying the game. (I've got my cap tilted to use the lid to block the setting sun.)

Suzanna's fiancé, Jacob, flew in to Bismarck and spent a long weekend with us. We had a delicious meal at Huckleberry House, a restaurant in Bismarck that serves Nordic fusion dishes and creative cocktails. It's located on the Missouri River, right where people board the Lewis and Clark Riverboat for evening cruises. (The next night we ate at El Sombrero in Dickinson so that Suzanna could have her favorite: P5, which is grilled chicken on rice with queso ... ¡such bold Mexican flavors!)

On Saturday, June 28, we spent the day in Medora. We started south of town at Badlands Ministries, the Bible camp that all three girls attended for years ... and later worked at for years! Then we explored the town and drove up to the amphitheater where the Medora musical is performed nightly throughout the summer--a perfect spot for a photo. We ate at Boots Bar and Grill, a dog-friendly restaurant where our server fawned over Zoey.

The drizzly morning turned into a sunny afternoon, which we spent driving around and hiking in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We saw wild horses in the distance and bison and prairie dogs up close. Our photo folders are full of scenic pics like this one ... but I'll spare you the comprehensive slideshow.

Jacob, Suzanna, Kevin, and Susan in the Badlands

The next day (Sunday, June 29), we went to church in Dickinson (St. John Lutheran) and then took Jacob back to the airport in Bismarck. First we met Susan's dad, Roger, and his girlfriend, JoAnn, for dinner at Laughing Sun Brewing Company, another dog-friendly restaurant that made Zoey feel welcome.

Suzanna and Zoey had a low-key week in Dickinson, and then we spent the Independence Day weekend in Tioga with my dad and my sister Sandy. I had to work, so I drove separately ... and before I got there, Dad took Susan and Suzanna to Dakota Drug Company in Stanley for a Whirl-a-Whip. It's a whipped ice cream treat, like a Dairy Queen Blizzard or a McDonald's McFlurry, but made using a vintage machine that once was common at drug store soda fountains and ice cream shoppes.

I grew up 35 miles from Stanley but never had a Whirl-a-Whip as a child ... or as an adult, for that matter. Dad has taken all three of his granddaughters for a Whirl-a-Whip and now his daughter-in-law, too, but never his son. It's an outrage.

On the 4th of July, we gathered at my cousin Jon's for what in recent years has become an annual get-together for the Moberg cousins, aunts, and uncles. We spent the night trying to shield Zoey from the sounds of the fireworks being shot off by Dad's next-door neighbors on both sides.

On Saturday, July 5, Susan joined Suzanna and Zoey for the road trip back to Tennessee. Susan will spend a week there helping Suzanna with preliminary planning for the wedding (which will be in October 2026). I will fly down at the end of the week to join them there.

Meanwhile, I stayed in Tioga and joined Sandy in the Freedom Fest parade. Sandy works for Hess Corporation, an operator of oil and gas processing plants and infrastructure in northwest North Dakota. I donned a Hess T-shirt and joined her in following the Hess entry in the parade while tossing candy to the spectators.

Today Sandy hosted Dad and me for dinner on the family farm, where she lives. The three of us hopped in her UTV and drove around the farm, touring the property and listening to Dad's tales about his childhood on the farm and admiring Sandy's work at upkeep. This photo was taken out on her deck before I departed for home.