CHAPTER TWO - ALMOST HOME

 

  We have been fortunate by having had the opportunity to travel so much over the course of our lives. In 2008 we took a vacation in Corpus Christi Texas and I finally got to see not only the Alamo, but where Sam Houston won Texas independence at the battle of San Jacinto. I can confirm here that the Alamo does not have a basement. There was, however; a restaurant across the street named The Basement. We also got to meet the father and sister of Salena in Corpus Christi. Her father gave us a tour of his recording studio and he was a really nice guy. There was also a Salena museum there at the recording studio. The recording studio and museum was in a bad part of town and about the only way that you could tell there was anything there was a painting of Salena on the side of the building that looked more like graffiti than anything. 

 In 2012 we were able to go back to Colorado Springs after 40 years. It was a dream come true for us because we enjoyed it so much when I was stationed there. It was the happiest time of our life. My sons Jon and Rob brought their families along with Mark and his wife Paulette. Sadly Carrie broke her foot very badly after only being there for a couple of days. She and Jon had to fly back home for surgery and at least their kids were able to stay with us for the rest of the week. We were able to see our old apartment on North Arcadia in Colorado Springs. The building appeared to be abandoned and it looked like the homeless had been living there because someone had taken a dump in the living room and everything was in disarray. Otherwise everything was recognizable and the visit was sad but nostalgic. The fine view that we had of Pikes Peak was blocked by buildings that had been built around the duplex since we lived there. The Pizza Hut was still there but the neighborhood had deteriorated greatly over the years. We also drove by our old church and Wasson high school where Mark attended while we were living there. My biggest disappointment was not being able to tour NORAD in Cheyenne Mountain. Tours are not allowed since September 11, 2001. 

 In 2014 we were able to take a trip back to Gettysburg with my son Rob & his family. From there we went to the Amish community of Intercourse. Virginia is for lovers but Pennsylvania has intercourse. I saw that on a tee shirt. We also visited Hershey, and Philadelphia Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia we visited Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. The last few days of the trip were spent in Salem, Lexington, Concord and Boston Massachusetts. I wish that we had gone to Massachusetts first and Pennsylvania last. We needed more time in Massachusetts. 

 In 2016 we drove out to San Diego along with my daughter-in-law Lisa and my grandsons Robbie and Blaine. Upon arrival we were joined by my sons Rob, Jon and my daughter-in-law Carrie. On the way we were able to visit the Oklahoma City bombing memorial and we stayed at a beautiful resort named after Lawrence Welk in San Diego. Besides San Diego we were able to see Hollywood and the famous Walk of Fame. On the way home we stopped at Dodge City Kansas, and the Eisenhower home in Abilene. I didn't care for the fact that I was able to carry my gun all the way out to California but in California my gun had to be placed in a lock box and my ammo in another lock box. It boggles my mind that the people of California allow such tyranny to exist.

I had the honor to walk my granddaughter Courtney down the aisle for her wedding in early May 2012. She made a beautiful bride and I was very proud of her. I have been very proud of her for a lot of reasons. Sometime in 2010, or 11, her leg started hurting and she developed a limp. We sent her to our orthopedic doctor but he took one look at her and told her that she might have Multiple Sclerosis. In a very short time she could only walk with assistance because the symptoms came on very quickly. Courtney was sent to one of the best MS specialists at Vanderbilt. After treatment, and a shot regimen, she has been able to live a fairly normal life but suffers a lot from pain. Courtney has even given us two beautiful great grandchildren. A girl named Baylee and a boy named Maddox. 

 In 2012 we lost my Aunt Didi. She was one of those people that you could never visualize dying because she was such an integral part of our lives. Her health had deteriorated in the few years before she died. Didi had some kind of episode with her heart while my cousin Alton was driving her around in Nashville. Doctors implanted a pacemaker in her but she continued to have dizzy spells from time to time and she was constantly complaining about how bad she felt. Her doctor could never find anything wrong with her. I begged her to get a second opinion but she never would. Didi went to my granddaughter Courtney's wedding and seemed to be so happy. A few days later, however; I got a call from my cousin Roy that she had been rushed to the hospital after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. She lay in a coma for days and would never regain consciousness. Didi died on May 27, 2012. She was 84 years old but I felt like she should have lived a longer life. I am not a doctor but I have always felt that a second opinion might have saved her life.

 From the time I was married until almost the day she died I called her on the phone at least once a week or more. This was something that she always appreciated about me. It was tough sometimes because Didi could get her feelings hurt very easily and she could feel sorry for herself. She loved everyone, however; and was taken advantage of by some of her closest loved ones. She would never admit it but she was too much of an enabler. I felt a sense of obligation because she sacrificed so much for me when she didn't have to and that is why I tried to stay in contact with her. I would always call her when something happened in my life or on the national and local scene. Or when someone was pregnant, sick or had died. 

 Didi would crack me up because she always sounded upset anytime I told her that Debbie, or someone else, was pregnant in the family. She was that way with all of my children. She would say something like, "Gregory, don't you realize what causes that?" After the children were born, however; she was crazy about them. One of her favorite sayings was "Well of all the things." She could be very colorful. Once, when she was mad about something, she said "That makes my butt want to dip snuff." Like many of her generation she was bigoted but I can't remember her using the N word. Her favorite word, when it came to black people, was Nigra. It was alway's those nigra's this and those nigra's that. There was a black man, who Didi apparently liked very well, came to hang wall paper in our house. I cringed when she told him that he was a credit to his race. She was flawed, and could embarrass me at times, but a very special woman and a big part of my life. For several years after she died I would start to call her about something and suddenly remember that she was gone.