Class of '82
July 16, 2012

Well, it was a fun event. I really enjoyed seeing the gang I grew up with; some of them I have known literally my whole life--from hospital nursery to present. I just wish I had time to go down and see friends AND family, without having to sacrifice one or the other. This time it was family, of course, and I know that even though I will be back in two short weeks, there will be fallout from coming to town and not seeing a single family member.

But it was truly a flying visit. With Spouse working these 12-hour overnight shifts, he is exhausted, and needs all the sleep he can get. He couldn't even get all of Sunday night off--he had to go in at 11! How could I ask him to sacrifice more time yesterday? I knew he would need to get some rest before he went to work, so it was best to get home ASAP. (His "afternoon nap" lasted FIVE HOURS, so yeah, he was a little tired!)

And frankly, if none of them can be bothered to make a priority of me, I fail to see why I should make one of them. They all need to know I'm coming to town--but apparently that is only so they can look over their calendars and inform me that they are all booked up. I am not chasing all over town to hunt down my kinfolks on the busiest, most congested day of the year in my hometown.

Oh, yes; they had the reunion right in the middle of the annual town festival. Complete with parade, rodeo, street dance, and "cornholing" tournament.

And yes, that's actually what they call it. It is a bean-bag throwing game, but the bags are filled with dried corn instead of beans. Anyone still wonder why I was so desperate to get out of there back in '79?

The party itself was a blast, despite brutal heat, humidity, total lack of a breeze, and 17 of us, which is probably half, but not bad for an "off year". I really enjoyed seeing everyone, especially my two old buddies from the neighborhood, Judy and Gene. And it was kind of nice being called "Dee Dee" again, no one has called me that in a while!

The Taurus has a dodgy temp control, making air conditioning rather unpredictable. So for peace of mind and comfort, we ended up renting a 2012 Impala. It was a very nice car; roomy trunk and interior, nicely loaded, drove like a dream, and the air, of course, was gloriously frigid. Enterprise had a decent deal, we got a free upgrade from a Nissan Sentra, and they have much the best customer service, so we went for it just for the peace of mind.

Last Thursday, B got at his leg again and we ended up taking him in to have his leg re-wrapped & boarding him at the animal hospital on Friday. 3 different meds and a bandaged leg are just too much to worry about if he's at the kennel. Spendy, but what can I do? Gotta take care of my best friend.

Anyone seeing things adding up here? All in all, it was ridiculously expensive for a trip to Iowa that lasted less than 24 hours:
252.00 for the car
97.00 for boarding The B
112.00 for hotel
20.00 for food to take to the party
70.00 for gas
______________
551.00 total