Home Again

Kris and I, along with my sister Jeanne and her husband Dave, returned to Colorado Springs last night, covering the 830 miles from Anaconda Montana in one marathon day of driving. We found Kris' cats all safe and sound (we had a cat sitter), although they had managed to vomit quite a bit while we were gone, and in very inopportune places - like on my bedsheet.

Our trip was wonderful and the best of it was near the last, as we did finally get around to seeing part of Yellowstone National Park. What an Eden! We saw a black bear - somehow or other I had never actually seen a wild bear - more bison than I can easily count, ditto for elk, pronghorns and mule deer, and at the end of the day the Norris Geyser Basin. Just marvelous. My only trouble is that I can't seem to find the  program that would allow me to upload our many pictures to the computer. A small complaint, I know.

Our sixteen year old Honda performed very well over the 2000 or so miles we added to the already more than 200,000 miles it has traveled. Saying that they make good cars might seem redundant in light of this, but as a mechanic told me once, the only way to get a Honda off the road is to wreck it.

Jeanne and Dave left for Virginia this afternoon. I drove them to the ariport and accompanied them as far as the security gate, where we said good-bye. As I stood there, waiting for them to enter the screening area, my attention was diverted to a family group standing near me. A man and four children were there, all four kids crying and the man trying very hard to hold back his own tears.

It didn't take long for me to realize what was going on. We see things like this more often in Colorado Springs than most Americans do, what with Fort Carson located at the edge of town. Sure enough, the man soon waved to a woman who had cleared the screening process and was hefting a camouflage pack onto her back. Deploying.

I wanted to say something, to express our gratitude to military families, but didn't want to intrude on an intensely emotional and private moment. So I smiled at them, and watched as they walked away. It will be a difficult time for all of them, the mom on deployment, the dad who will have to be a single parent for awhile, and the kids who miss their mother. Our military families, and our soldiers abroad. Mr. President, bring them home safe and soon.