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03/26/2007: "A Weekend in Indiana"

This past Tuesday we found out that Heather’s grandmother had been hospitalized in Indiana. Heather was called upon to stay with her over the weekend. We decided that since Dylan would be with his dad, Katelyn and I would make the visitation circuit in the area.

We took off from home immediately after picking up Dylan from school. After dropping him off to his dad, we visited Heather’s grandmother at the hospital briefly before taking off for Akron. She looked weak, but was alert and eager to see us.

Once in Akron, Katelyn and I went directly to the video store. My parents are continually making changes in the store, but they rarely notice them after time. I’m the one who always walks in with wonder on my face. This time, they had done some major re-arrangement of the racks on the floor. It was one of the most significant changes I had ever seen, but it was all ho-hum to them. They see it every day! They have also added a sixth tanning bed. They cleaned out the back office and put it there. Now my dad has no place to sit and work in private!

My dad took us to the local pizza place to pick up some dinner. It was built in the old brick building that once held the fire department. The place has been around for well over ten years, but I had never been in there before. It’s a unique little locally owned place, complete with an old-fashioned ice cream bar as well.

We enjoyed the hamburger and sausage pizza, but Katelyn was growing restless in the video store. There’s just not a lot for a little girl to do there. Friday nights are usually busy, so she was in the way as well. We went early to my parent’s place to wind down and get ready for bed.

Katelyn learned the hard way how to play with kitty cats. She must have teased my parents’ black and white cat beyond its patience, and she lashed out, nicking Katelyn’s face. Katelyn knows how to imitate a cat and play like a cat, but she has almost no experience actually playing with a cat. Our cat Harley from Georgia avoided Katelyn at all costs, so she never really got close enough to play with him.

After Katelyn went to bed, I watched some college baseball, South Carolina at Mississippi State. I forgot that the NCAA men’s basketball tournament was on, and my dad corrected that oversight once he and my mom got home at 9:15. I really enjoy talking with my parents when the kids are not around. We can really open up and get in depth about politics, local happenings, and social issues. My father is more aware of national issues than I am, and I enjoy hearing his views and opinions on race relations and governmental waste.

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When I left my parent’s place early Saturday morning to go visit Heather, it was extremely foggy. I doubt that I could see fifty feet in front of me. I could not see the night-lights of my parent’s neighbors. It was slow going at first, but it was nice being able to use my high beams! I never get that opportunity in St. Joseph.

I picked up a cappuccino for Heather and for me just before I reached the hospital, and that was a welcome sight for a woman who had not slept a wink that night! Once her grandmother moved to a chair to eat her breakfast, she perked up right away. She looked 100% better sitting up and eating. Heather and I slipped away long enough to enjoy breakfast at the Golden Corral

I left the hospital a little earlier than we had originally planned, and I used that time to stop by the Akron Library for a few minutes. First off, I was absolutely stunned at how it had changed on the inside. Nothing was in the same place it had been twenty years previously. The science fiction section is now intermixed with the fiction section alphabetically by author. I was hoping to see a consolidated section so I could do a quick scan for books I had once read and forgotten when I was younger. I want to list them on “Buck’s Sci-fi Reads” on the list you see in the left-hand column of this website. There are about twelve computers in the center of the floor, the checkout desk faces the rear of the library now, and there is even a mini-room dedicated to local history and genealogy. The library has fewer books than I remember it having, despite the fact that the library has a new addition.

Second off, I was hoping to look at any information they had on the Winona Railroad. They have some newspaper clippings in a paper file, but I did not have time to make any copies or scans. At least I know they have something. I am not sure if they have pictures of downtown, which is really what my goal is. I simply want to know what the town looked like with a commuter railroad moving through it.

Not long after getting to the video store, my parents told me that one of my high school classmates was currently in a tanning bed. I stuck around to talk to her, and was not disappointed. She gave me updates on her family, and some other classmates. She even had information on people I never saw after our freshman year.

It was almost shameful that we spoke more in 45 minutes than we had in four years at Valley, but that’s the way youth can be. What I did not know is that she had been a customer of my parents for many years, and had always asked about me. I have to admit I was really flattered. So, that’s fuel on the fire to attend any twenty-year reunion that will be planned.

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Katelyn and I said goodbye to Nana and Pa-Pa, and we made our way to Warsaw. We picked up drinks, and went to a playground park on Winona Lake. We must have been close to Grace College, because I saw a lot of young students too old and mature-looking to be high schoolers. The weather was fairly warm, but it seemed shaky. Had a stiff breeze come along, it might have gotten chilly in a hurry.

Katelyn played on the corkscrew slide and on the monkey bars, and I pushed her for quite a while on the swings. She absolutely loves it when Daddy plays swing with her. Unfortunately, she flew off the swing twice in attempts to get off. She learned that she had to stop first. We also went out on a small pier, and saw ducks and a dead fish. Katelyn could not tell it was dead, so the trauma was at a minimum.

By pure coincidence, we met up with my nephew Josh, who lives nearby! He recognized me first, and we had a good time catching up. He’s interested in wresting, and looks forward to returning to Valley next year.

We visited Heather and Grandma for a little while longer before eating dinner, and going to Grandma’s place to spend the night. We snuggled on the couch for a while watching cartoons before she headed to bed. I needed to unwind on the Internet for a while before heading to bed myself.

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Katelyn and I woke up around 8 AM on Sunday morning, and enjoyed some time with Heather’s Aunt Janet, who lives in the same building as Heather’s grandmother. My sister Lori and my nephew Jacob met us in Warsaw just before noon, and we enjoyed lunch together catching up and letting the kids get to know one another. Katelyn and I then took Aunt Janet to Wal-Mart for some shopping and walking around.

We made our way back to the hospital, and took a walk on the wetlands trail that runs by the hospital a nearby lake. Once we got back, Dylan had rejoined us all, and we went out to visit Heather’s parents’ place for a home-cooked dinner.

After dinner, we dropped Heather back off at the hospital and went back to the apartment. Katelyn had a bath, and Dylan and I watched some television. It was a nice peaceful end to a long day.

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We took our time getting up this morning. The kids watched some cartoons, while I tidied up the place and had some breakfast. We picked up Heather after her dad arrived, and headed for home.

Today’s weather was the best of the year so far. Dylan played a lot of basketball, Katelyn rode her bicycle and swept the parking area – don’t ask me, it’s a five year old girl’s thing – and I cleaned up sticks in the yard in preparation for mowing in a couple of weeks. I had to eat a bit of crow after trying to get the mower started. Dylan started fiddling with it after I had temporarily given up, and I was telling him to quit screwing around when it started after just one pull! So, he and Heather seem to have a magic touch when it comes to mowers.

So now it’s after 9 PM, and I am thankful for relaxing after a weekend that totally threw us all off our normal schedules. I’m more than ready to head back into the office tomorrow.

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Here is my blogging dilemma: I had every intention of taking our new digital camera so I could share some images of my hometown. I wanted to share pictures of the schools, the old cemetery, the Winona railroad remnants, and other places of childhood interests. Sure enough, I left the camera behind. To add insult to injury, I could not borrow my mom’s camera because she had loaned it out.

So, for as much fun as I had, and for as much free time as I had, I am unable to share any pictures with you! I know there will be other times. If nothing else, I can take pictures when Heather takes off for Ecuador this July.

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One final note from this weekend: as Katelyn and I were leaving Akron on Saturday to go to Warsaw, I saw a young girl wearing an away football jersey as she rode her bicycle on the sidewalk. It’s good to know that they still proudly wear the Kelly green and gold of TVHS in my hometown.