Driviing with My Dad

Aunt Rosalie at her home in Lowry City Missouri

The interesting thing about traveling about the country, at least in this technological age, is the absence of Internet access wherever and whenever one needs.  After departing from the Motel 6 in Salina Kansas, my dad and I drove to my Uncle Jim's in Paola (he and my Aunt Alma carry no Internet in their home - nor do they need it with the volume of stories they tell from their vast years of experiences to share) and then my Aunt Rosalie's in Lowry City Missouri (who has also seen many things and knows much to share.)  Thus, now here in Metropolis Illinois, seated in another  Motel 6, which I can recommend for its basic simplicity and ease of cost, I can return to these words of mine.

Driving with my Dad is an experience.  First of all, he's in his eighties.  All his faculties are not as sharp as they used to be, so the driving would proceed at a snail's pace.

My personal reaction to this intrigued me.  I knew, after our departure from Great Bend Kansas to strike out on highway 156 that led to Interstate 70, Dad would not be able to keep up with a regular speed.  Anytime I made the attempt to drive faster, he would fall further behind.  If I allowed too much of a distance between us, other cars would fill in the gap and I would lose sight of where he was.  Leaving the McDonald's in Topeka Kansas, I even lost him altogether.

Thanks to the technology of the cellphones, we were able to reconnect.

There were moments during these excursions down the road - driving 45mph down the Interstate - I would become irritated at this constant lag.  I just wanted to see my dad progress at a little faster speed.  But as I spent time around him and and his brother, and then around him and his sister, and I saw how he was restored to life, I realized just how much the trip took out of him and how easily the vigor of youth manages to escape us.  His mind is still sharp as a tack.  When he is in his element, he can still engage in conversation.  It's just when his body wears down, as it is now more prone to do, a little more time is required to return him to full strength.