I get a strange feeling that you're thinking, "What is Ada". That's what this blog will try to clear up for you. And don't feel too bad if you've never heard of it. Until earlier this week, I hadn't either.
The story of Ada starts with my cousin Preema. She lives in Ohio, and has been inviting us for the last couple of years. She's always been very warm and I promised I would try and visit her. A few days ago, I asked Reia if she wanted to visit her in Ohio. She was game, and we decided to go. We thought we would drive. Leave on Friday. Stop on the way. Visit Preema on Saturday. Drive back. Stop on the way. And be back home on Sunday.
I asked Preema for her address and she sent it, thinking that we were kidding. And she made it amply clear that in case we weren't she wouldn't allow us to leave without spending at least 1 night at her place. Her excitement was contagious and we decided that we could not let her down. And the only way to do it was to fly.
While there were several airports between 1 - 2 hrs drive from Ada, Dayton seemed to be the most convenient. Unfortunately, the non-stop flight was reaching late evening and so we took a early morning flight via Chicago. We set out at around 4:00 am for our 7:30 am flight. We got lucky and were bumped to Business. Reia who had slept on the way to the airport, and at the airport decided that this piece of luck should not be wasted and decided to sleep like she was at home.
We reached Dayton, picked up our rental and drove to Ada. The drive was scenic. And a big change from the East Coast. We pulled into Preema's house and her son Ethan welcomed us. Preema greeted us in her typical, warm and friendly way. And then spent the next 15 minutes in trying to get us to confess the real reason for us being there. She had several theories, but the 2 I liked best were, "You'll have come to buy land here." And "You'll are running from the police." She finally decided that we were not going to divulge our secret mission. And made Bhel Puri, a favorite Indian snack. That was accompanied by Chai, my favorite beverage, the famed Indian tea.
Reia is giggly and chatty. Preema is also giggly and chatty. And the two of them got along like a house on fire. With me being thrown a few pity questions along the way. Preema's husband Ranjan who is an accomplished Professor and Doctor came home late from work. And the chatting continued. And I was no longer the only one being ignored. We discussed board games and Preema’s favorite was Bluff. Reia educated us it was called "BS" in the US. We ended up playing Phase 10, an interesting card game, that involved in addition to luck, strategy and technique. Naturally, Ethan won.
Dinner was a huge spread of fusion cuisine. Korean and Indian. We ate way more than we should have. But then, it’s not often that you have great company and great food together.
During the time that Reia and Preema were chatting, Ethan was busy playing a video game with his friends. Preema and Ranjan mentioned that the game was being played by almost everyone including smaller kids and high schoolers as well as adults. I was intrigued and after dinner asked Ethan about the game. It was "Fortnite". And Ethan was happy to share his knowledge with me. And to call him an expert on the subject would be an understatement. He educated me not only about the game, but also the reasons the game was successful, the business model being used and why on his opinion it would continue to be a huge success in the coming years. It was all fascinating to me and what stumped me completely was when he brought out a book published by Scholastic on Video Games.
The next morning, we were treated to homemade rice pancakes and chutney, an Indian delicacy. One of Preema's neighbor joined us for breakfast and we learnt about the challenges of being a Democrat in a Republican town. She also got 2 amazing vegetables and we learnt the benefits of being a part of a co-op farm.
After breakfast, we were taken on a tour of the town of Ada. There were several things I noticed in this small yet beautiful town. Satellite dishes at ground level. To beat that, the town observatory was also at ground level. And just when I thought this couldn't be topped, we came across a solar farm at ground level.
Back home, we had another amazing meal and more awesome conversations. And before we knew it was time for us to go. And just when I thought that this trip couldn't get better, Preema threw a curved ball. Neil Armstrong's childhood home house was on the way to the airport not far from Ada. And Reia and I drove there. An Amazing trip had a cherry on top.
We flew back, direct this time and drove home reaching late and tired. And Reia summed it best as she crawled into bed, "I'm so happy we visited Preema." For lack of more powerful words, "Thank you Ethan, Ranjan and Preema".
p.s.: We also discovered that not only were the D’souza family one of the towns most famous residents, each was famous in their own right. Check these out.
http://www.adaicon.com/news/201806/what-are-you-reading-0
http://www.adaicon.com/news/201601/pharmacy-professor-honored-new-investigator-award
http://www.adaicon.com/feature/201707/slim-never-ends
http://www.adaicon.com/photo/201811/zombies-library
The story of Ada starts with my cousin Preema. She lives in Ohio, and has been inviting us for the last couple of years. She's always been very warm and I promised I would try and visit her. A few days ago, I asked Reia if she wanted to visit her in Ohio. She was game, and we decided to go. We thought we would drive. Leave on Friday. Stop on the way. Visit Preema on Saturday. Drive back. Stop on the way. And be back home on Sunday.
I asked Preema for her address and she sent it, thinking that we were kidding. And she made it amply clear that in case we weren't she wouldn't allow us to leave without spending at least 1 night at her place. Her excitement was contagious and we decided that we could not let her down. And the only way to do it was to fly.
While there were several airports between 1 - 2 hrs drive from Ada, Dayton seemed to be the most convenient. Unfortunately, the non-stop flight was reaching late evening and so we took a early morning flight via Chicago. We set out at around 4:00 am for our 7:30 am flight. We got lucky and were bumped to Business. Reia who had slept on the way to the airport, and at the airport decided that this piece of luck should not be wasted and decided to sleep like she was at home.
We reached Dayton, picked up our rental and drove to Ada. The drive was scenic. And a big change from the East Coast. We pulled into Preema's house and her son Ethan welcomed us. Preema greeted us in her typical, warm and friendly way. And then spent the next 15 minutes in trying to get us to confess the real reason for us being there. She had several theories, but the 2 I liked best were, "You'll have come to buy land here." And "You'll are running from the police." She finally decided that we were not going to divulge our secret mission. And made Bhel Puri, a favorite Indian snack. That was accompanied by Chai, my favorite beverage, the famed Indian tea.
Reia is giggly and chatty. Preema is also giggly and chatty. And the two of them got along like a house on fire. With me being thrown a few pity questions along the way. Preema's husband Ranjan who is an accomplished Professor and Doctor came home late from work. And the chatting continued. And I was no longer the only one being ignored. We discussed board games and Preema’s favorite was Bluff. Reia educated us it was called "BS" in the US. We ended up playing Phase 10, an interesting card game, that involved in addition to luck, strategy and technique. Naturally, Ethan won.
Dinner was a huge spread of fusion cuisine. Korean and Indian. We ate way more than we should have. But then, it’s not often that you have great company and great food together.
During the time that Reia and Preema were chatting, Ethan was busy playing a video game with his friends. Preema and Ranjan mentioned that the game was being played by almost everyone including smaller kids and high schoolers as well as adults. I was intrigued and after dinner asked Ethan about the game. It was "Fortnite". And Ethan was happy to share his knowledge with me. And to call him an expert on the subject would be an understatement. He educated me not only about the game, but also the reasons the game was successful, the business model being used and why on his opinion it would continue to be a huge success in the coming years. It was all fascinating to me and what stumped me completely was when he brought out a book published by Scholastic on Video Games.
The next morning, we were treated to homemade rice pancakes and chutney, an Indian delicacy. One of Preema's neighbor joined us for breakfast and we learnt about the challenges of being a Democrat in a Republican town. She also got 2 amazing vegetables and we learnt the benefits of being a part of a co-op farm.
After breakfast, we were taken on a tour of the town of Ada. There were several things I noticed in this small yet beautiful town. Satellite dishes at ground level. To beat that, the town observatory was also at ground level. And just when I thought this couldn't be topped, we came across a solar farm at ground level.
Back home, we had another amazing meal and more awesome conversations. And before we knew it was time for us to go. And just when I thought that this trip couldn't get better, Preema threw a curved ball. Neil Armstrong's childhood home house was on the way to the airport not far from Ada. And Reia and I drove there. An Amazing trip had a cherry on top.
We flew back, direct this time and drove home reaching late and tired. And Reia summed it best as she crawled into bed, "I'm so happy we visited Preema." For lack of more powerful words, "Thank you Ethan, Ranjan and Preema".
p.s.: We also discovered that not only were the D’souza family one of the towns most famous residents, each was famous in their own right. Check these out.
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