New Years in Ohio Hi Tiki Today was the Friday after New Years. I worked today, but as I worked I recalled some of our New Year weekends of the past. When our kids were young we used to stretch New Years into a four day holiday. Many of them were spent visiting with or being visited by our friends Howard and Carol and their two boys who lived in Ohio. We would alternate years. The years that it was our turn to go to Ohio I would work a half day the day before we were supposed to be in Ohio, and then come home to pack the car so we could be on the road by early afternoon. The year that came into my mind today was the year we made the trip in my little 4-banger red Fiat 128. We had two cars to our name then, your huge ’69 Plymouth Satellite with the missing bumper and sandblasted camouflage paint job that was mostly “camou” and no “flage”, and my Fiat 128 which was new but a subcompact. We werent sure your Satellite “boat” would survive the trip so we opted to overload the Fiat with provisions, luggage, our standard size poodle, and our three kids. We stuffed the dog, our two girls Pam and Bridget, and our son Jimmy in the back seat. We filled the trunk with the luggage, most of which belonged to you girls. Jimmy and I just packed two pairs of underwear each and our toothbrushes. You girls brought all your underwear, enough clothes to dress for anything from a pajama party to a formal ball, make-up, hair dryers, and I don’t know what all. The only thing you didnt pack was that box of thingies that I usually had to go in search of an open Walgreen’s for in the middle of the night, because despite the fact that they were needed on a fairly regular basis there never seemed to be any on hand when required. The food was split up between the back seat floor and the front seat floor to be handed back and forth as we drove. Once loaded we set off for Ohio. I wanted to take the PA Turnpike because it was the shortest route, but you said we needed to take I-80 because there were more places to get off for you and the girls to use restrooms. So I-80 it was. And you were right, there were plenty of exits with services and I think we stopped at them all. Of course there was the one exit in the middle of no where that you insisted I get off at because you had to go. I pointed out that there were no gas stations right at the exit, and you told me the sign said there was one located 2 miles to the right. After we drove 20 miles with no sign of civilization, you said maybe the sign said 20 miles instead of 2.0 miles. So I turned around and drove 20 miles back to I-80 and then 20 more miles to the next exit which was well lit with 4 gas stations and a truck stop. I was sure I was going to have to get you to a hospital for some dialysis. The girls were complaining because Jimmy was sleeping and taking up the whole back seat. Somehow you turned around and leaned over the back of your seat to straighten that situation out while I was doing 70 mph. When the kids got bored you kept us all entertained by playing “The Name Game Song” aka “The Banana Fanna Foe Fanna Song”. We all took turns singing it. We went through all our names, the dog’s name, family and friends’ names, and then we started making up names trying to trip you up. I gave you Mergatroid for a name and you made it work although it was a stretch. The kids finally got tired and went to sleep. Shortly afterwards you put your head on my shoulder and conked out yourself. After you were asleep for a while I hit a bump in the road that woke you up. In a panic, you wanted to know what happened and I told you I didnt know it woke me up too. Even after I told you I was just kidding, you stayed awake the rest of the way, talked my ears off, and if you thought my blinks were taking too long you would put your arms around my neck and try to keep my eyes open with your fingers. When we got to the Pennsylvania-Ohio border I pulled into a motel. After spending the rest of the night there, we completed our trip to Howard and Carol’s in the morning. This is only Chapter One of this memory. I’ll complete Chapters Two and Three over the weekend. This was one of our epic adventures. So even though we won’t be making anymore trips to Ohio for New Years, we’re still in the car making this trip tonight in my mind. We’ll spend the night in the motel of my heart and continue this journey tomorrow. I love you Honey. Good night my Tiki. Tiki, Tiki, bo-biti Banana-fana fo-fiti Fee-fi-mo- miti Tiki!!
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 02:20:00 +0000
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