MEMORIAL DAY

May 30, 2011-Monday-Memorial Day

Before America, before The Colonies, before the Magna Charta, before Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt before and before, men and women have struggled and fought for freedom and independence. Today should be a time to remember those countless thousands who paid the ultimate price that we might live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. We should never forget that the price of freedom is blood and eternal vigilance and that the only politicians who fear guns are those who have a right to fear guns. Throughout time immemorial there have been those who would steal freedom from all men, subjugate them, enslave them and take their lives on a whim. Today, as always, only vigilance, strong arms, strong minds and good weapons will stop the enslavement of those whose only desire is to live free or die.

We should always remember Concord, the Alamo, Iwo Jima, D Day, and all those other times when men and women freely laid down their lives that we might retain ours, in freedom. Great civilizations are not conquered from without but from within. Let us be ever vigilant, aware, outspoken and active to insure that our freedom is never taken by tyrants in the guise of helping and sustaining us. Our best help comes from above and at the end of our arm. Those who look to government to solve their problems and heal their land will be enslaved by that same government. Today is a memorial to the dead who died for the living that they, the living, might live in freedom. Don’t let their dying be in vain.

We rose at 7:30 on this Memorial Day after a fitful night’s sleep. It did cool off quite a bit from what it was when we stopped but it was still too warm for those anxious to reach Alaska.

Thanks to the inverter we had chai tea and coffee. Over our beverages we visited a bit and talked about the day’s plans. We decided to tie down the living room slide cover as it was popping a little yesterday.

The driver checked local weather on his phone and found a prediction of winds to 25 miles per hour with gusts to 38 miles per hour. Fortunately the winds will be out of the south and we will be headed north, northwest or north north west the majority of the time today so it won’t present a lot of driving problems.

We broke our fast at eight and got on the road again at nine.

Our beginning mileage was 119,986.

In northern Missouri, on Highway 29, the wind was from the south at 25 miles per hour with gusts to 45.

Here, if there is no tree growing on it and it is at least semi flat ground, it is planted in corn.

Iowa welcomed us at 9:50 with strong winds and evidence of lots of rain. The flat lands had water standing in them and the bottoms were flooded. If the wind holds it will dry up a lot of the standing water and perhaps save the corn crop.

Patriotic music has been playing for Memorial Day including marches by Souza as in John Philip.

We reached Council Bluffs around 10:40. Council Bluffs is home to the Union Pacific Railroad museum. It was also the jumping off place for them when they started their end of the transcontinental railroad. In addition it is home to the school for the deaf in Iowa.

The Battle Hymn of The Republic and Dixie along with lots of other patriotic tunes played as we motored along.

The sea of grass on the right of way and approaches to overpasses was being swept by strong winds and it looked like green rippling water, marching steadily northward.

Eleven forty five found us near Glencoe, Iowa. It was a warm 81 and the wind was whipping out of the south at 38 miles per hour and gusting to 50. Overhead the skies were clear.

When we turned east or west the wind presented a challenge to driving as it pushed us from lane to lane.

Now there were a few high clouds high overhead as we passed Sioux City, around noon.

From the iPod we were hearing a medley of service songs. The driver is not one to rush into technology but the iPod is a great addition for us. We have it programmed for different genres of music and listen by the hour to our favorites.

An hour from Sheldon we were in hills. Some people think of Iowa as flat but there are definitely hills here. Perhaps there are more southerly than northerly but certainly they are in the southwest where we have been picking morel mushrooms.

Western Swing was now going on the iPod. Asleep at the Wheel was bringing back memories of the greats of that era.

Outside our windows a flock of Canadian geese--twenty five or thirty in number--rested on a body of casual water. We don’t know where they will spend the summer. They may stay here to raise their goslings or go on north. Speaking of wildlife we have seen several deer since entering Iowa. Unfortunately they have all been road kill. We would not want to drive at night and meet one of these big guys on the road.

Arrival time at Kurt and Becky’s was one thirty

Ending mileage was 120, 231. That is 1354 miles since we left home.

We parked in front of the house and went inside.

No one was home. Apparently they were still at the lake.

We went back to the coach where we napped until two thirty when Kurt and Becky got back.

Outside the coach hugs and hellos were exchanged then we went in the house to visit.

Shortly thereafter Kurt and I were off to hunt asparagus. We went to the same places he and I had hunted before. We found lots of places where it was obvious a lot of asparagus had been picked but there were even more still there for the picking. We picked and picked and got several messes before we called it quits. Even though we had several pounds we had left some for Sylvia, for another day. Maybe Tuesday or Wednesday she can come out and experience picking wild asparagus. Kurt and the driver got back home about five and took the load of asparagus to the kitchen where Becky and Onie would process them for eating fresh, vacuum packing or pickling.

Krista, Becky and Kurt’s daughter, came by with her fiancé, Paul. They have dated for years and been engaged for quite a while. Saturday they will become a married couple.

The weather forecast was for possible violent conditions including damaging winds, large hail and a possible tornado. Kurt and the driver decided it would be prudent to get the coach inside so we took it to his business which has a large indoor bay. Still hooked up the Marlin and toad were put inside.

Kurt and Becky had pickled some of the wild asparagus and when he and the driver got back home they opened a jar to test them. When the jar was empty it was decided that the pickling had indeed turned out good. They were yummy.

Gary, Kurt’s sales manager, and his wife, Debbie, came by to visit. They stayed a bit before saying so long. We will see more of them before we head to Alaska.

Kurt smoked some brisket before we arrived and now Becky served it for supper along with a salad and grilled asparagus.

After supper there was more visiting which included the wedding plans as well as summer activities in Alaska.

At nine thirty the house became quiet when everyone went to bed.

OYVEAH

May 31, 2011-Tuesday

The writer was up at seven when he visited with Kurt and Becky.

When Kurt left for work and Becky left for school the writer sat down to tend to email but not before he brewed tea and had a cup near at hand.

Onie joined him at nine when she also checked her email.

The writer read news on the web, worked a crossword online, made notes and wrote until it was time for breakfast.

Informed and fed Onie and Pawpaw, the driver, took showers and got dressed while making plans for the day.

Onie worked in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes from last night then starting on the asparagus.

The writer wrote.

Around noon Kurt and Becky came home for lunch.

Becky brought home a lot of stuff from school. She is closing down her room and retiring from teaching. She loves teaching and the kids but there are discipline issues that the school administration refuses to address so Sheldon will lose a very dedicated and talented teacher. Perhaps she will teach somewhere else, someday.

The writer knows other folk who have left our educational system which has been rendered both pathetic and mediocre by administrations that are top heavy, incompetent and spineless. While there are a few good administrators left, and the writer knows a couple, most are interested only in money and security. The truth of that statement lies in the fact that our public education system graduates youth who cannot read, write or comprehend this dialogue. Worse yet there are many college graduates who can’t write a complete sentence and know nothing of sentence structure. They have no idea about the history of our country or the brave men and women who have died so that we might live in the little freedom we have left.

The Constitution is a document that exists in their minds only and most have never read it nor have any idea what is in it. Economics and the fundamentals of money management is not a mystery to them as for something to be a mystery one has to at least have knowledge of its existence and they don’t. The idea of self-sufficiency is totally foreign to them as they look to the government for everything from healthcare, to retirement, free education, protection from natural catastrophes, instructions on protecting the environment, job security and countless other areas of life where, given the proper upbringing and education they would shun all such intrusions.

After lunch both Kurt and Becky went back to work.

The navigator and driver repaired to the kitchen where they worked on the asparagus sorting them, the short ones for pickling, and the longer ones to be blanched, rinsed and vacuum sealed.

When they were finished the writer sat down to put down more notes.

Then it was off to the coach with notes of things to retrieve for things for supper as well as taking the vacuumed asparagus to put in the coach chest type freezer.

While at the warehouse the driver opened the front of the coach to take out the fuel filter from the generator so he could get a replacement.

Leaving the warehouse he and Onie went to the grocery store before heading back to Kurt and Becky’s.

The driver dropped off Onie, to start dinner, then headed off to look for fuel filters for the generator. He found one. He and Kurt headed back to the warehouse where the new filter was installed and an attempt made to start the generator. When it refused to start and run Kurt discovered that the belt was off. oyveah! We went home at a quarter to six.

The driver became the writer and sat and made notes at 5:45, checked the web for mail and checked on an easy way to put the belt back on the Generac. Such a way didn’t seem to exist. There was no way to put belt back on without removing the generator. A call was placed to Cummins in Sioux Falls. They are not a Generac dealer but they would take it tomorrow and do their best. Whenever we are on the road and need help it seems Cummins will always come to our rescue.

Supper consisted of venison burgers, asparagus and sweet potato fries.

After supper more notes were laid down before more visiting took place.

At 11 the household went to bed.

DE JA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

June 1, 2011-Wednesday

We were up at 8:15.

Outside it was warm and sunny.

Inside we had chia tea and coffee and the writer made notes before taking a break for a breakfast of steel cut oats, honey and strawberries accompanied by jasmine tea.

After breakfast he left to go to Kurt’s warehouse.

After backing out the coach he hooked up the toad and left at 11:40. The beginning mileage was 120,233.

This is the heartland of Iowa. There are gentle rolling hills, lots of cattle, lots of corn crops, prosperous looking houses and out buildings and the farm equipment looks new. The writer doesn’t know if it is but it looks new. There is a lot of John Deere equipment here along with a lot of silos and grain elevators. Small patches of trees surround homes except in towns where trees are prevalent. The towns tend to be small, neat, prosperous places 10 to 12 miles apart with no litter. They must have very strictly enforced laws or the mamas taught the children to love and respect the planet. Now there is a refreshing idea especially since it, the planet, is just on loan to us.

There is something about traveling rural two lane roads that is at once enchanting and frustrating. When one gets behind a driver going thirty one goes thirty until the other party turns off or there is a chance to pass which may be 30 miles up the road but if one is aware of the passing scenery the thirty mile per hour speed is not so bothersome after all.

The coach rolled into South Dakota 12:40 and arrived at Cummins in Sioux Falls soon after.

In the shop they took out the generator. The tech determined there are four long bolts that hold the system together. The bolts and nuts have vibrated loose and need to be reinstalled/replaced along with a new belt and then checked out before reinstalling in the Marlin.

Note the bolt missing completely on the left side and the nut missing on the right side.

The parts will have to be ordered and it will be a day or two before they arrive and the coach is ready.

At 5:55, with the writer behind the wheel, the Subaru left for Sheldon. It stopped at Starbucks on the way, to refresh the driver, then it was on to Sheldon where it arrived at 7:35.

Supper was on the table. The driver sat down and ate, visited and then explained the problem with the generator before going to bed at 9:30.

It had been a long day with De Ja Vu all over again.

MULTISYLLABIC

June 2, 2011-Thursday

We woke and rose at 7:30.

Kurt had gone to work.

Becky and Krista were ready to go to Sioux Falls to pick up the wedding dress and shop. They invited Onie to go along but she opted to stay with the driver.

Breakfast was cheerios with a banana, coffee and tea.

After breakfast Onie worked on the website and prologue and I worked on week one and taking notes off the recorder.

Kurt was home at 11:30 for brunch.

He told us Barbara and Sidney would be here in an hour and a half or two. Then he went back to work.

We continued writing and working on the website.

Sidney and Barbara arrived at 3. Hellos and hugs were exchanged before Sidney opened the trunk of his car revealing the Vidalia onions he had brought for us and the camp, in Alaska. He also had watermelons and cantaloupes.

Kurt came home at 3:30 to welcome them then hurried back to work.

Sidney and I went to hunt asparagus, about four. We were gone ‘til 7. We also picked a lot of radishes from the garden Kurt and his brother, Klint, planted and maintained. They don’t like radishes so the writer picked everything that looked mature.

Back home at seven, Becky and Krista had just arrived, we had a salad, asparagus and smoked salmon pasta dish.

Dinner was over at 8:30.

Kurt and Becky left for Little Spirit Lake.

Onie and Barbara cleaned and stored the asparagus and radishes that the writer and Sidney had picked.

The ladies went off to bed at 11.

Before going to take showers at one we dashed off a quick note to Obama giving him insight into world problems he or his advisers will never discover. The only concern we had in reviewing our letter and the resolutions to the world’s problems was that it contained words that were multisyllabic and we were unsure if anyone in the current Whitehouse would be able to read, much less comprehend the letter. Agreeing we had done our best we went off to take our showers.

After the shower Sidney went to bed.

The writer stayed up continuing with his notes and agonizing over how to dumb down the letter enough for Obama and his cohorts to read it and understand it.

Giving up he went to bed at 3.

SPARKS FLEW

June 3, 2011-Friday

Onie was up before me. The writer rose at 9:30 to have chai tea. Barbara fixed breakfast; hard boiled eggs, pan sausage, English muffins, fig preserves and cantaloupe.

The writer/driver started getting ready to go to Sioux Falls and then Spirit Lake but before he left he helped the ladies pack the stuff in Becky’s bedroom. It was going to Alaska and it was to ride in the Marlin to get there. When everything was in boxes and sealed it was put in Kristopher’s car.

We packed our stuff and the cooler then put everything in the toad and called Eastex again to put our DSL service on vacation.

A few more notes were put on the recorder and computer before we packed both computers then left about 2 for Sioux Falls and arrived around 3:30.

Unfortunately they were just taking the coach into bay to begin work.

The driver opted to go to the drivers’ lounge where he could watch the progress through a window as he read his book. Onie stayed in the car and read.

From time to time the driver checked on the progress being made on the generator. They had it back together except for new belt when we arrived. They were just checking its operation prior to putting it back in.

The job was completed at 6:30. The driver, now the payer, went in and squared up the bill before going out to hook up and getting on the road again at 7:15, He pointed the Marlin south on 29. There was almost no wind. What a change that was from previous days.

Almost unnoticed we slipped into Minnesota as we neared Little Spirit Lake.

Today we had been in three states.

We turned into the drive of the lake house at 8:45. Most folks were gone and those remaining were soon to leave. They had enjoyed an outdoor rehearsal dinner.

With the coach parked and the closet slide out we tried to plug into shore power but there was a problem. Every time we tried to connect to the incoming power cord sparks flew. At a loss to the cause we decided to hook the power directly to the freezer for the nonce and go on to The Inn at Okaboji.

We got there at 9:30, checked in and went to our room.

A few minutes later we met Sidney and Barbara on the balcony where we visited ‘til midnight.

Then we went in to sleep.

WEDDING DAY

June 4, 2011-Saturday

It would be a big day.

We were up at 8 and showered. Onie had coffee in the room. The driver left at 9, in Becky’s car, to get his suit and a few other things that would be needed to prepare for and attend the wedding.

Onie went to Wal-Mart with Barbara and Sidney and then enjoyed a great lunch with them in their room. Onie and Barbara love liverwurst with Vidalia onion so that topped the menu along with bleu cheese.

On the way back to Little Spirit Lake the driver took a wrong turn and ended up driving quite some distance before recognizing and admitting his mistake. He turned around, retraced his steps and got there at noon. It is a normal thirty minute drive.

In the coach he had a bite of lunch, trimmed his beard and hair, read, took a shower, got dressed again and headed back to The Inn. He arrived there at 3. In the room he showered, again, and dressed. He and Onie shared the bathroom as they dressed and wondered how young folks would manage with just one bathroom.

At 3:30 Onie and Pawpaw stepped out of their room and onto the balcony. Onie was dressed fit to kill. Pawpaw was wearing a suit and tie for the first time in many many months. They tapped on Sidney and Barbara’s door who were ready and waiting to go find a good seat for the wedding. The foursome did that.

The wedding was outdoors on the shore of Lake Okaboji. The couple would stand in front of a bower covered with flowers with the lake in front of them and the wedding guests arrayed behind and on either side of them.

As we waited for the wedding to begin, at 4, we visited and watched the wedding party assembling behind us to our left.

Becky, mother of the bride, was there looking beautiful enough to steal the show from the wedding couple.

Mother of the Bride

Various other members of the wedding waited with the groom for the wedding to begin.

Promptly at four seating of the honored guests began and the minster took his place in front of the bower.

Becky’s mom and dad.

Kurt’s mom

Groom with parents

Then the procession of flower girl, ring bearer, bride’s maids and groomsmen began.

Best man and matron of honor

Brother of the Bride and sister of the Groom

When the matron of honor and the best man were in place the wedding guests rose to address the bride as she was escorted in by her father.

Father of the Bride

With the wedding party in place the mother and father of the bride gave her away with her father lifting her veil and planting a kiss on her cheek. The groom then took her hand and the minister began speaking. He spoke of how God had created woman to be a helpmate for man and how man was to protect the woman, how God had created marriage as a lifelong covenant between man and woman and how the commitment Paul and Krista were making today was a sacred one and not one to be entered into lightly. After his remarks were at an end he had to bride and groom recite their vows and place rings on one another’s finger. He then pronounced them man and wife, Paul kissed his new bride and then the minister introduced the new couple. The recessional began and the newly married couple began making their way away from the bower.

Krista and Paul Honnerman

As the recessional continued to play the mothers and grandmothers were escorted out followed by their husbands. At weddings men play a rather insignificant part and their attendance goes almost unnoticed. Were it not necessary for the groom to be there to say I do, most weddings could be conducted by the women without having to bother with the men except for the open wallet that is needed for most weddings to take place.

With the recessional at an end, a receiving line was put in place and the guest went by and wished the new couple best of luck and some offered advice. The writer reminded the groom, Paul, to treat his wife, Krista, like a race horse and she would never become an old nag. Paul got a kick out of that and promised to remember it and try to put it into practice. Then the writer placed a peck on the lovely bride’s cheek and moved on to congratulate the mother and father of the bride on having done themselves proud in putting on one splendid wedding.

When all the guests had wished the new couple best of luck the wedding party went to a waiting boat where they boarded and went for a short cruise on the lake before returning to join the guests who were already seated in a large hall partaking of tasty tidy tantalizing tidbits taken from the nearby kitchen.

When the tidbits were gone the various tables were called to go through dual buffet lines.

Before all the tables were served a DJ began playing various songs.

Kurt escorted Krista to the dance floor and they swayed to the music until the first song ended then the groom claimed his bride and they danced.

Soon the dance floor was covered with couples swinging, swaying and cavorting to various genres of music. The writer asked the DJ to play some belt buckle shining music for the older set which he gladly did. It was a medley of moldy oldies from the 50s and 60s. Some were slow and some were fast. On the slow ones we belly rubbed and on the fast ones we bopped, did a swing and I think Onie may have thrown in a little twist. The writer is a bit too stiff to twist on the dance floor so he just twists a few tales now and then.

The foursome, Onie, Pawpaw, Barbara and Sidney outdid a lot of couples their age by hanging in until eleven o’clock when they grabbed their coats, got their hats and left their worries on the dance floor and headed for their rooms where they promptly called it a day.

OLIO

June 5, 2011-Sunday

We were up at 7, showered and packed the things we had brought with us.

In the café at 8 we met Kurt, Becky, Sidney, Barbara where we each went through the buffet line. The writer enjoyed the first hot tea in days, Earl Grey. It was wonderful.

After breakfast we helped Becky and Kurt get decorations down and pack things to take back to Sheldon.

We briefly saw Krista and Paul, Mr. and Mrs., and then help load stuff in various cars for the trip to Sheldon.

When her car was loaded Becky left for Sheldon. She was soon followed by Kurt.

Kristopher gave us a lift to Little Spirit Lake where the coach was parked. Along the way we stopped to buy a replacement for the 15 amp adapter that had burned up when we tried to plug into shore power. We got to the lake at noon and said goodbye to Kris and Brett then we started packing the coach with items that had been stored in the lake house awaiting our arrival. Most of the items had been brought up yesterday from Sheldon.

While we were packing the coach Kurt arrived and helped.

With the coach almost loaded we disconnected the toad and Kurt washed it, dried it and then we put the tow shield on.

He and a neighbor tried to figure out the problem with connecting to shore power. They eliminated the power cords in the coach as well as the switch box. All that worked fine.

The neighbor, Al, had a birthday party to go to so he had to leave. Kurt needed to get back to Sheldon to help Becky so he too left.

Onie and I napped and read in the lake house until 5 when we went out and hooked up the Subaru and got ready to leave.

After locking up the house we were on the road again at 6:30.

We arrived at Cummins in Sioux Falls at 8.

After unhooking Onie helped me back in to an empty spot.

Situated for the evening Onie read for a while before fixing each of us a pbj sandwich.

The writer took off notes from the last few days.

At 9:15 Onie finished her book, took her pills, brushed her teeth, kissed the writer goodnight and went to bed.

Soon after the writer joined her.