by Pa Rock
Proud Grandpa
(With sincere apologies to the friends I promised to call the next time I was in KC. The weekend roared by and got away from me. Here is a sampler of what I was up to Friday and Saturday.)
The trip from my home in West Plains, MO, to the Macys of Roeland Park, Kansas, is almost 280 miles - or a four-to-five hour drive with a couple of brief stops along the way. Rosie, who is my age in dog years, and I seem to require breaks on basically the same schedule, and usually we can get there on two. When we make the journey, we go very early on a Friday and get there around noon, and we come home on Sunday arriving around one-thirty or two in the afternoon. Today we got a late start and it was closer to two when we pulled into the drive at our house. Nick and Gypsy both seemed happy to see us, and Gypsy gave Rosie a very long sniff to try and figure out what all she had been up to on her travels.
Friday, just after we arrived at Tim and Erin's and got sorted, Tim and Sully and I, along with my older grandson Sebastian, who lives in the Kansas City area, went to Costco for my regular supply run. When I was there four weeks ago I had forgotten my wallet during our jaunt to Costco, so this time I shopped for several items that had slipped into critical demand at home. I always enjoy those trips to Costco and try to keep all necessary supplies well stocked at home. When the next Trump pandemic hits and RFK, Jr, has completed his destruction of the US vaccine program, I plan to have toilet paper coming out my . . . utility room door and stacked in the hallways!
As my grandchildren age, the busier they are, and the harder it is to grab some of their valuable time. Olive had been hurt (concussed) at a volleyball game Thursday night and had been seen at an ER, so she spent most of Friday in bed, but she was up and around by Saturday because that was homecoming at her high school - and this is her first year in high school, so last night's homecoming was extra special. Several of her friends and one cousin showed up at early and spent quite a bit of the day in Olive's room getting reading for the big evening - and especially for the dance after the game. There were also a couple of mothers and one very involved grandmother helping to make sure that everything was perfect for the young ladies' big night. And they were each and every one beautiful as they left the house in the evening.
Sully is playing basketball on Wednesday nights (so I haven't made it to one of his games yet) - and his Dad is his coach. Sully seems to be adapting to that sport well and spent hours dribbling a basketball both inside the house and outside on the driveway while I was there. He also walked his old granddad to the community park which has undergone major renovations over the past couple of years - since I was there last. My grandson led me past the new equipment and explained what each piece was for, then, as we passed the two clean and very neat restrooms, he explained that both were for boys and girls. I thought that was extremely progressive. I hope MTG and Nancy Mace don't find out about it!
Tim and I went to the Target store near their house yesterday evening where I purchased an inexpensive set of noise-suppression headphones - to wear in my cardiac rehab exercise program - and on the mower if Nick ever lets me mow again. Tim set them up, loaded Spotify onto my phone, and showed me how to use everything. That purchase was a big plus for the weekend.
The last time I was there - a month ago - I dropped off a writing project for Tim to proof and edit. Poor Tim. When he agreed to do it, I think he anticipated something that he might knock back in a weekend. But I had been working on the effort seriously for about four years, and the pile of pages I dumped on him was about the size of the Kansas City Area telephone directory - with yellow pages included! That's what you get for having parents - nothing but problems! So this trip I picked up a pile of completed pages - with enough left to last him through the end of the year - barring interruptions!
And speaking of interruptions, everyone in our Kansas City orbit should be pleased to know that Rosie and I made it home safely. The only notable takeaway from today's long drive is that most motorcyclists in Missouri seem to eschew the wearing of helmets. Fifty years ago when I was licensed to ride a motorcycle and did so occasionally, the state law dictated that you MUST wear a helmet, but apparently that is no longer the case. Allowing bare-headed motorcycle riders on our highways is another bold step backward by Missouri's bonehead state legislature. Nobody is WOKE at the Missouri State Capitol - that much is obvious. When our legislature IS in session they are cutting services to thee working class poor - which includes most of the state. So, Pa Rock says, of our esteemed legislators: "Let 'em sleep!"
And. Rosie says, "There's no place like home!"
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