Day 3 060506

Day 3 of my parents’ visit

My dad is a good conversationalist (when he has his hearing aids on and is looking right at you) and story-teller so you will hear a little more about him than my mom, who, although she is not a quiet person, just isn’t as quotable as dad.

In the middle of the intersection of Nevada and Platte avenues is a large statue of General William Jackson Palmer, the city’s founding father, horseback. Dad was stationed at Camp Carson in 1947 with the Army and when we drove by the statue, he said, “We marched in a parade right past that statue. I’m surprised it’s still there. A lot of times in these big towns they try to get rid of stuff like that.”

“Oh, there have been some that have tried.” Springs residents of any length will know this is something that comes up every few years because people that come here from California other states don’t know how to drive and can’t figure out how to get around it. It’s merely an obstruction, like a median or boulevard or something like that. Oh well, that’s another entry for the future. I explained all this and dad said, “Maybe those people from California other states should just go back where they came from. This city has gotten so big I would never be able to recognize anything or find my way around. How many people are in this city now, about 50,000?”

“No, about 400,000 in the city itself.”

“When I was out here it was just a small town. Sometimes we would get on a bus and go into town or maybe go up to Denver.”

“Have you ever been to Pueblo?”

“Oh yes. One time we went down there and stayed at the Pueblo Hotel. I saw there was a ladybug in the other guy’s bed when he pulled back the sheets and I said, ‘Look. There’s a bedbug in your bed.’ That guy couldn’t sleep all night because of that. I slept like a log because I knew there weren’t any bedbugs there, but I didn’t think he’d take me serious like that. Oh well. He should have known better than that.”

My dad has always had a good sense of humor.

This was also our 26th wedding anniversary. Someone came up with the idea of us all going out to eat. By this they meant mom and dad and Grandma Pike, Abigail, Tabitha, Ben, Isabel and Savannah and Troy, Elizabeth and Douglas. This was too major of an undertaking, so we just kind of blew it off this year. Besides the logistical problems it also seemed like an expensive undertaking. So a massive UNO game ensued, which Grandma Thiel loves immensely.

More tomorrow.

Remember, the good book says, “Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite.”