Back Again from the Heartland

Hey - Hey, I'm back from the Big Country - North Dakota. I know when anyone thinks about that 'no-where' state, they always think of emptiness, and you know what, they are right!!

But to tell the truth, as I have said before, it has it's own charm. Roads that are as straight as an arrow and go for miles without seen a house or a tree or anything. When you do see a house it's usually a trailer set back off the road surrounded by old cars and beat-up farm machinery. There are nice houses and big farms as well, but for the most part, in this part of God's Country, it's seems like the hard luck family predominates. You have to want to live here. One doesn't move here by accident. This is what makes these people so beautiful.

The land in this part of North Dakota is so flat, when you look out across the immense fields that seem to have on end, it presents a certain uniqueness that you won't find almost anywhere else. To live here, one has to have a strong constitution. You have to know who you are and have a definite love for the land.

It is said by those wiser than I, if you live in the country, you get your power from the land, and if you live in the city, you get your power from people. I'm not sure if that is an absolute, but It works for me. I like these people.

This is my forth trip to see my dad that is residing in a home for the soon-to-depart residents. He is 98, suffers memory loss and a departure from reality. I told my brother who went with me he would fit right in with a bunch of liberals that I know. He thought that was extreme in that most liberals never have had a gripe of any kind on reality.

For the most part, he is doing well, given his age. We had a great time watching old James Bond movies and NCAA hockey games to pass the time. The only problem was we got to loud during the hockey game and one of the next door residents shouted at us to shut-up so she could go to sleep.

This was about 9:45 pm on Monday. My dad thought she probably shouldn't go to sleep at all at her age as it might be her last snooze. He said don't worry about it as she was just an old prune. We shut the door completely anyway, even though it was too late to do any good. My bother and I said we weren't worried because we've been thrown out of better places than this before. My dad liked that.

As we left we apologized to the nurses, that were on duty, for being so routey that late. They were laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes. They indicated that that hasn't happened in recent memory. They though it was great. The residents will be al-a-buzz for awhile. I'm sure we'll be table-talk for some time to come.

I guess not much has changed for the family. When we were much younger, we were always getting our folks in hot water with the police or the neighbors. We were always driving our cars like crazy or making to much noise. heh

We had a great time in North Dakota, and I know my dad really enjoyed the visit. He hated to see us go. It's been almost six months since our last visit and I don't know when I will make the 600 mile trip again.

It isn't fair, some how, that he should be that old and not see his family more often. I don't have any answer. Maybe I will have any answer when I get that old, but there might not be anyone around to ask this question about me !? -