Day Six and I'm in Phoenix

The trip from El Paso was uneventful and that is how it should be. I did get to pass the site where there had been a terrible accident on I-10 at Bowie, Arizona the night before. I passed through about 1100 hours yesterday morning and the burnt out huld of a semi was still smouldering on the shoulder of the road. I had seen the news report about it in El Paso before I departed. The report did indicate that the highway had been opened again. That was relief.

I arrived at the motel at 1300 hours, checked in, made a couple of calls to let folks know I had arrived and then caught up on my internet correspondence. Around 1500 hours my daughter called and invited me to come over and help them with some last minute shopping. I was out the door in a flash only to discover that Tweedle-dee the Wonder Dummy was alive and well right here in Phoenx. When I tried to start the car I discovered the battery was dead. I had forgotten to turn off the headlights. I always travel with them on for safety reasons. I was able to find a helpful young man with jumper cables and was soon on my way.

It was great to see my daughter and the two boys. No, strike that, two young men. It has been a couple of years since I last saw them. They have grown into tall and handsome young men. I suspect they will break a few hearts and have theirs broken as well. We had to wait for my granddaughter to show up to provide transportation. She marches to her own drummer and time is probably a nuisance to her. She does manage to get to work in a timely manner and she does her job well.

I must admit the drive to the store was very exciting. I didn't realize that the Huyndai Accent has only to positions on the throttle wide open and closed. She does use her turn signals when changing lanes, a skill she demonstrated often.

She has made some interesting choices in her young life. They haven't all turned out quite the way she thought they would, or maybe they did. Anyway, she seems to be able to keep a cheerful, positive attitude thorugh it all.

I like to think I have a special bond with her from a time when she was about six or so and they visited us. I wish I had intervened in an interaction between her and her step-dad. At the time I thought , mistakenly, that parents could be psychologically hurtful to their children when disciplining them. What an ass I was. At any rate, I am still bearing the guilt on that one and take this time to publically apologize to her for not doing more.

Well now, that went a little further than I anticipated. What an interesting choice to continue it.

Today is the big day. The farewell/bon voyage/congratulations for graduating/getting through high school party which is set for later today. I am not sure how many folks will be there, but I promise to take more than a few photos. Some of them may even show up here.

The saga will continue.