 | a visit to see |
[10/14/2021 Ken & Deb] We left College Station around noon on October 14th. The plan was to try and see my mom in Littleton, CO, first, and then [depending on timing] Deb's dad in Monroe, OH. We wanted to do this once more before this winter's snow started to fly. If we could pull it off, all-in-all, it would be one very long, 3800-mile, 14-state, very round trip.
Because we are old, we now stop halfway and spend the night somewhere (when we were younger, we would drive these 1000 mile trips in one day). Unless we are in the motorhome, we will look for a Motel6 (pets stay free). This time we found one in Amarillo, which is in the barren Texas' panhandle, but well-situated on the way to mom's front door. This motel is not too far from the infamous Big Texan "If You Can Eat It, You Get It For Free," Steak Ranch.
Because we are old, we now stop halfway and spend the night somewhere (when we were younger, we would drive these 1000 mile trips in one day). Unless we are in the motorhome, we will look for a Motel6 (pets stay free). This time we found one in Amarillo, which is in the barren Texas' panhandle, but well-situated on the way to mom's front door. This motel is not too far from the infamous Big Texan "If You Can Eat It, You Get It For Free," Steak Ranch.
We arrived in Littleton the next afternoon (Friday) just as Pam was pulling into the driveway with mom's dinner. I don't know that mom recognized us when we arrived, but she did recognize Pam. Now 92 years young, Mom probably thought that we were just some of Pam's friends. [Her memory is getting very bad, unfortunately.] The next day, Chris (our son, mom's grandson) stopped by the house and she did not know him, either. She thought Chris was a friend who I just happen to invite over. As kids, we often used to bring neighborhood friends over to our house unannounced (times were different back then) -- this was probably the root of mom's assumption. [I've learned that is the way the old brain works...]
| Deb and I got to spend a lot of time with our granddaughters, Ellie and Addy, on this trip. They came to mom's house to visit and do crafts and to help Ami bake in the kitchen. Ellie wanted me to look over her math homework (I don't know why ... she is very smart and had done all of her calculations correctly). Meanwhile, Addy was just a ball of energy -- never stopping as she explored the house in search for things to pick up and relocate. She is always "on the go." Wow! | |
Mom slept a lot. Essentially all we had to do was greet her in the morning (usually around 9:00), make sure she took her pills, and then watch her go take a nap. We would make her lunch and dinner, and do some cleaning for her. In the afternoons we would go to the grocery store a lot. Deb bought some clothes for her and arranged for her to get a haircut while we were there. When she was awake, mom seemed to enjoy reading chapters out of my book over and over again. In the evening, after dinner, we had to make sure that she took her pills (again) and then we watched her go to bed around 7:30. While she was awake we tried to make her smile as much as we could. She enjoyed smiling at Gadget's antics. And at least once a day we got to go on a search for her hearing aid (a daily pastime). We had a great time with her and it was a good visit!
Headed to ohio!
We left mom's house on the morning of October 28th. We drove the leg from Littleton to Monroe in three days. The first night on the road we stayed in Blue Springs, MO, at another Motel6 (Blue Springs is the halfway point on the Interstate 70 route). In all of the years that I have driven the route between Dayton and Denver, I can say that not a single noticeable thing has changed on this road in 42 years.
We spent the next night in Middletown, OH, just a few miles north of Monroe, our destination on this leg of the trip. We stayed in Middletown to see Dave's magnetic house (it's fully made out of steel!). The house is very interesting -- you have to hang pictures by using magnets (regular nails will not penetrate the walls!). It was fun to get to visit with him -- though Deb has seen him several times in the last couple of years, I had not seen him since 2013. Dave is a lot of fun. It was good to see that he is doing well.
We spent the next night in Middletown, OH, just a few miles north of Monroe, our destination on this leg of the trip. We stayed in Middletown to see Dave's magnetic house (it's fully made out of steel!). The house is very interesting -- you have to hang pictures by using magnets (regular nails will not penetrate the walls!). It was fun to get to visit with him -- though Deb has seen him several times in the last couple of years, I had not seen him since 2013. Dave is a lot of fun. It was good to see that he is doing well.
| | Deb's father lives in Monroe at Mount Pleasant Assisted Living Community. We stopped in to see him the next morning. He had a visitor when we arrived so he was already up. The time flew by ... We talked for several hours, mostly about family. And my book (I shared a copy of my autobiography with him). He couldn't believe that I would have so much to write about. He enjoyed looking at his and Dot's picture on one of the pages, as well as several pictures of Deb. |
The staff brought Deb and I lunch when Bob's was delivered. That was very nice of them (the food was pretty good!). Deb and I left after lunch when Bob got sleepy, but we told him that we would be back in a couple hours to continue our visit.
| In the afternoon, when Deb and I came back, Bob was alert and talkative. Though he questioned several times where his wife was, he still remembered quite a bit. He seemed most interested in talking about his time in The Netherlands as a youth. I did not know that he had been a Boy Scout in Holland. Nor did I know he had rejoined the Scouting program after he had immigrated to the United States. | |
Bob's parents were Johan (NMI) and Elizabeth (NMI) and were born/raised in the Netherlands. Sponsored by Elizabeth's brother (John Dubois) who lived in New Jersey at the time, Johan and Elizabeth emigrated in May 1947, almost exactly two years after Germany's surrender. Johan worked several jobs in several cities, moving his family often to obtain work. His last occupations were air raid monitor and activator (he said he was a Warden, but I think that title means something different in the Netherlands than it does here), and truck driver. In the midst of the Allied attempts to drive out the German forces, Johan was able to keep working during the war (The Hague, Amsterdam, etc). At one time he even drove for a limousine service in Nunspeet. He says "A Bridge Too Far" is an accurate depiction of how he remembers the war.
Though Johan and Elizabeth applied to leave war-torn Holland on the day after the war ended, it took two years for all of the paperwork to be complete. Johan became "John" on the immigration application. Johan, Elizabeth, and Robert arrived at Ellis Island on 11 July 1947. "John's" first job in America was as a new car prep man for a Chevrolet dealership in NYC.
"Robert" was 15yo when they immigrated, but went to American high school as a freshman and graduated at age 19. He enlisted in the Army upon graduation from high school. He served only a few years (2?) and immediately went to school to get a license in land surveying. He then went to college and got a BE degree in Civil Engineering.
Though Johan and Elizabeth applied to leave war-torn Holland on the day after the war ended, it took two years for all of the paperwork to be complete. Johan became "John" on the immigration application. Johan, Elizabeth, and Robert arrived at Ellis Island on 11 July 1947. "John's" first job in America was as a new car prep man for a Chevrolet dealership in NYC.
"Robert" was 15yo when they immigrated, but went to American high school as a freshman and graduated at age 19. He enlisted in the Army upon graduation from high school. He served only a few years (2?) and immediately went to school to get a license in land surveying. He then went to college and got a BE degree in Civil Engineering.
 | Deb's dad was quite excited to see us (he did not know when we were coming). It was an encouraging visit. Bob talked and laughed a lot. We had a good time. His Ohio State Buckeyes were going to be kicking off a football game just after dinner, so that is when we left. We said a quick prayer and gave lots of hugs. It was a really good visit. |
back to texas
When we returned to Texas (from Littleton) in June (2021), we took an extended route so we could see some of western Texas. We stopped at Palo Duro Canyon, Abilene, and in Lubbock. On the trip in October, we enjoyed an extended route that took us across Tennessee, the corner of Alabama, Mississippi, the corner of Arkansas, and across Louisiana. Several hundred miles of the trip were through the beautiful Fall colors of the Natchez Trace Parkway. I guess you can say that we like to immerse ourselves in different types of scenery when we travel!
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