A surprise visit
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Have you ever heard of the term "Flash" vacation? Neither had I, so I sort of coined it. Before my Grandma Hostetter died, I flew to Montana with my Mother to visit Grandma, as we didn't know how much more time we might have. Mom was coming from Arizona, I was coming from Montana. We were going to meet in Bozeman, rent a vehicle, and drive to Conrad.
So near the time that my plane was to depart, Leslie B and her family were on the way to Germany with a layover at Ohare. So I went a few minutes early in order to meet them. Plane schedules being what they are, I got to spend only about five minutes with them.
We got to spend a good bit of time with Grandma in Conrad.
Then, on the way back, we met some of the Bozeman cousins in the airport for less than an hour.
So it felt like each of these stops along the way were about as long as the flash from a flashbulb. (Does anybody use these anymore?) Hence, a "Flash" vacation.
So I had settled in to my weekend job and was programming away when I get a phone call from "NO NAME" which really turns out to be my cousin Robbie. It had been way too long since we talked or written. She asked me where I was and what I was doing.
So that might seem a little odd—asking someone that you just called where they are—but in the days of cell phones, maybe it is not so odd. My daughter for the longest time had a greeting on her cellphone that said "I'm not here right now", leaving the curious caller to wonder just exactly where "here" really is.
So I replied that I was at home in my office. She says "Well, I am at Ohare with a five hour layover". What a nice surprise. I bundled the dog into the truck and headed off to the airport to pick her up. We stopped by Ruth's work and they met for the first time. Then we stopped by the house to show her where we live.
A very nice visit, and it is a bit of a "Flash" visit.