Home Again
goldenmina and I had a trouble-free direct flight from Boston to Seattle (very, very early) this morning, and we're home now.
As you might guess, the weekend was trying, physically, mentally and emotionally. We flew out of Seattle on Friday before the sun was up, changed planes in Chicago and arrived that evening in Boston, where we spent the night before driving up to Maine on the following morning. The flights and the drive were, mercifully, free of difficulties. The only further remark I'll make about that leg of the trip is that car rental companies really aren't all that sensitive to their customers' needs: an Chevrolet Monte Carlo is not a "compact."
The funeral service for my father was held on Sunday afternoon in Flagstaff Memorial Chapel, a tiny, one-room church relocated when his home town was flooded (see previous post). Even the big hunk of rock next to which Benedict Arnold allegedly raised the eponymous flag staff was moved, and placed next to the building at its new location. My sister-in-law, Joy, handled the arrangements with her usual combination of aplomb and hyper-organization, and I think my father would have approved of the very simple rememberance ceremony. This was the first occasion I'd had in six years to return to Maine. I took goldenmina there the year after we were married, to prove that I hadn't been making any of it up, but this was her first encounter with even a portion of my vast extended family. We drove back to Boston shortly after the service so that we could catch today's flight. A lot of flying and driving in a short period.
To those who sent their warm wishes and supportive messages to us in recent days: thank you, again, for your consideration and friendship. This has been a difficult event for us, and we very much appreciated being in your thoughts!
As you might guess, the weekend was trying, physically, mentally and emotionally. We flew out of Seattle on Friday before the sun was up, changed planes in Chicago and arrived that evening in Boston, where we spent the night before driving up to Maine on the following morning. The flights and the drive were, mercifully, free of difficulties. The only further remark I'll make about that leg of the trip is that car rental companies really aren't all that sensitive to their customers' needs: an Chevrolet Monte Carlo is not a "compact."
The funeral service for my father was held on Sunday afternoon in Flagstaff Memorial Chapel, a tiny, one-room church relocated when his home town was flooded (see previous post). Even the big hunk of rock next to which Benedict Arnold allegedly raised the eponymous flag staff was moved, and placed next to the building at its new location. My sister-in-law, Joy, handled the arrangements with her usual combination of aplomb and hyper-organization, and I think my father would have approved of the very simple rememberance ceremony. This was the first occasion I'd had in six years to return to Maine. I took goldenmina there the year after we were married, to prove that I hadn't been making any of it up, but this was her first encounter with even a portion of my vast extended family. We drove back to Boston shortly after the service so that we could catch today's flight. A lot of flying and driving in a short period.
To those who sent their warm wishes and supportive messages to us in recent days: thank you, again, for your consideration and friendship. This has been a difficult event for us, and we very much appreciated being in your thoughts!