Unexpected Trip!
Thank God we made it home safe and sound. I can't believe how many people we got to see while we were back in Iowa. It was truly amazing to see everyone from the Casey side of the family...many of whom I've not seen since I divorced the kid's Dad 14 years ago! Their warm reception and graciousness will remain in my heart of hearts for the rest of my life! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed being a part of that family. Angie and her husband Lucas, and Aunt Helen and Danny (Gramma Casey's sister and her husband) sat next to me and well, totally took care of me during the whole funeral, church, luncheon process. It was quite apparent that they wanted to make sure that I knew how much they still loved me and didn't want me to feel uncomfortable in any way while Ken was arouond. And really, I wasn't nervous, or anxious, or anything like that going into the thing. The unexpected vibe I got from Ken, though, was that he was feeling some sort of regret for his absence all these years and really wanted to speak witih me for a while. But Karen (ex-best-friend and new Mrs. Ken Casey) wouldn't let him say two words on his own. I could be wrong, but we made eye contact twice and he said "Hello"...and there was just something familiar in his eyes that struck a long forgotten memory within me. It's so sad...he does not feel at peace in his life at all....at least I wasn't picking up on that. They left the luncheon abruptly,, not saying good-bye to anyone except his folks and Jed and Margie...and I didn't get a chance to say anything else to him. I wanted to at least convey to him that the past is the past, and to wish him peace and joy in his life. Talk about icky vibes from Karen, though.....eeeewww! It was really cool to spook the hell outta Ed when we first got back to Iowa.....tears and all. It was sooooooo cool! After he composed himself again and reassurred himself that he was not dreaming he said, "Man! I haven't been bamboozled like that in a long time!" I don't think I've ever heard him use that term before....funny! Great to spend some time with Sean....what a sweetie....and my favorite family dog, Patches! Margie took some pics and so hopefully we'll get those posted today. We had a really nice visit with Gramma and Grampa Matheny at their cabin on the lake. She cooked us a really sweet baked chicken and hashbrown dinner and we ate on their porch and had a good visit. It was freakin' cold the whole time we were back and Gramma insisted that Margie and I smoke on their enclosed porch! It was really wierd....but so nice that she made an exception to the house rules and insisted that we be comfortable. We got to take a little evening trip with them to see the old Dutch community of Pella with all their adorable windmills and tons and tons of tulips. All the homes had rows and rows of tulips planted in their front yards, and the local businesses, and the town square were all vibrant with pinks, yellows, fuscias, white, and multicolored tulips swaying in the chilly April breeze. Very picturesque! Gramma picked out some jewelry that Margie created and she gave Margie some more Coke tins and stuff for her Mom...and as we were getting ready to leave, Gramma gave me two beautiful porcelain Native American dolls from her doll collection! I was so surprized and overjoyed. I've got just the place for them! We also got to visit Grampa Kunce in his home for a bit. He was so happy to see all of us. He has hopes of feeling better soon and taking Ed fishing in a favorite spot near Muscatine. We brought him a tin full of caramel corn, cheese corn, and the regular popcorn. He laughed and said, "Well, your mother won't let me have this, but I'm going to eat it for sure." I wasn't sure if he could eat it or not, so when we first gave it to him I said, "Well, if you can't have this, you can feed it to your squirrels." And he replied while clutching the can of corn in his arms...."Oh no! The squirrels aren't getting this!" Ha, ha! He's still got his sense of humor and Margie said she'd send him some postcards with Daytona Bikini Girls on them....and he grinned and said he'd look forward to that. We got to visit with my good friend Nik for a bit. I've lost track of so many people in my life that it's always good to see him and to know that he's still around. I hope we remain friends for a long time to come. We've really helped eachother through some difficult transitions in our lives.....gotten pissed with eachother....and always managed to greet eachother warmly and pick up the good communication lines again. That's rare! I am so grateful for that. While we were doing our super-sleuth thingy in Coralville (looking for my best friend from highschool-Angie Andrews), we stopped into our favorite "get more stuff store" Hobby Lobby....hee, hee...and Margie got me this huge spherical, red Spanish glass vase to add to my glass collection at home. It was half off the normal price and just grabbed my eyes as soon as we walked into the store! Margie insisted that I have it....and so much thanks and appreciation to my sweetie for that! Jed was the Navigator for the trip and had Margie's laptop ready for just about any road-trip information we needed. It totally saved out butts on a couple of off the beaten path screw-ups....hee, hee. But by Thursday, it was just time to head back and we said our tearful good-byes and headed back home to Florida. We stopped in Tennessee and visited the Jack Daniel's whiskey distillery.....what a neat blast from our country's past. The museum and artifacts were really intersting....narrative on Prohibition and stuff....and we got some cool pictures of Margie pretending to enjoy a bottle of JD sitting next to a keg! The day was warm and just beautiful. It was good to know that we were heading back towards warmer weather. I'm such a weenie now! I can't stand being cold! Anyhow, wiished my other children could have made the trip with us, but it's good to be back. Now....to continue with my encouraging my landlord to get my fence up, clear out his crap from my garage, and spray again for these damned fleas! I've been bitten 3 times since I've been back......eeeeerrrrrgggggggHHHHHH!!!!!! Okay, love to you all and I'll try to be more diligent about my postings.