The Driver

Yeah, that's me!

As I have indicated, I have a few miles in the past.  Starting at age 8 years, my parents and family headed across the USA all the way to Philadelphia, then to New York for our flight on a DC-9 (yep, propeller driven) to Denmark where my father was born.  I have vivid memories of certain stops along the way, the most memorable being staying in a former (maybe active) brothel in Wallace, ID and barfing pancakes into my fathers sport coat pocket at the old lodge in Yellowstone.  Hey it was his fault for offering to give us each a silver dollar if we finished all our breakfast.  Big mistake!  (I got the silver dollar anyway and still have it.)

I am sure we must have crossed Rte. 66 along the West to East highways, but an 8 year old doesn't pay attention to road signs, right?  (Some would say I still don't pay attention to road signs.)  Oh, I forgot to mention the swinging hair brush from the front passenger seat where my Mom sat, trying to hit my brother and I in the back seat when we got too rambunctious.  Wow, what fond memories!

So I am sure many wonder how can I do this 3 week trip, in my later, stable life, without Jacquee objecting?  Well, she has always encouraged (enabled?) me in my goals, regardless of the outcome on her own comfort level.  Whether it be heading off alone to Denmark in our early courtship, or heading to Nepal to live for 2 years.  (Where we were separated for 30 days without her knowing where I was in the Himalayas.)  Or how about going to graduate school, leaving her as pretty much as a single mom with two toddlers - for two and a half years?  And let's not talk about the adventure of leaving a very lucrative career to go into business ownership at midlife, where it took 10 years to return to my previous levels of income.  All while raising four kids.  So yeah, she's always been behind my dreams.  So this trip is pretty minor in comparison.  But still...

Thanks Jac!  I will always give you the credit for all the goals I have set in my life.  And made.