A Last Note from Dad

I've decided to take a little side trip on my way to the Twin Cities.  The weather forecast looks promising, at least for December in Minnesota.  Since I have the time, it seems like a good opportunity to perhaps find answers to some questions I have.

Following his retirement from aerial spraying, my dad, in his mid-fifties, took up driving semis.  He would often come back from a trip with stories of interesting things he’d seen along the way.  If I hadn’t been busy teaching and coaching, I’d have loved to ride along.  My solution was to send a disposable camera in the truck with him.  That way, at least he could share pictures of all those roadside wonders he encountered.

 

I never got to see any of those pictures.  Dad died driving his truck.  The camera was lost, but his little pocket notebook survived.  He carried it everywhere he went and in it made short notations for me about the things he had photographed.  

Which is why, some 23 ½ years later, I’m heading for Garden City, Minnesota.  I might not find what he intended to show me, but maybe I'll discover something else instead.