Bob and Susan

It was only a week ago that we went on down towards South Bend to attend the memorial service for Bob and Susan, and it still doesn't quite feel real yet.

But I suppose losing loved ones never does feel real.

One of the nicest things about family is, no matter how long you've been away, you're always family. When we moved out here from Seattle in 2004, we hadn't seen hardly any of this side of the family since 1992 when we took the "Grand Tour" to the East. That was a long time ago, and a lot of things went on in this part of the family that we weren't a part of, or had no knowledge of. Quite frankly, we were so focused on the things that were going on in our own little corner of the sky that we didn't pay much attention.

I came out here ahead of the family in June of 2004 just in time to attend the Downs family reunion in July, and got the chance to re-acquaint myself with all the aunts and uncles and cousins. Everyone was kind and generous and welcoming, but most especially I remember going on up to Edwardsburg and hanging out with Bob and Susan and their whole gang, and how much fun it was. Seems there was an endless amount of food from Susan and stories from Bob. I could've sat and listened for days.

Bob, of course, took me out to the shop and talked for hours about all the plans he had for this, that and the other thing -- fixing up trucks and cars and RVs and making trips around the country, welding and electrical work, the structural mechanics of barns, and the joy of llamas. And dogs that dug trenches in the yard.

I wish now that we could've spent more time hanging out at their house over the ensuing years. We tried. Quite a few Thanksgivings we were planning on going down for a visit (and some food!) but that's about time the first snowstorms come rushing across the lake and shut down I-94 and 131 and 31 and just about all the other southbound traffic.  We did get to spend one near-Christmas down there, which was a total hoot!

One of my favorite memories of Bob was helping him with the wiring on a trailer. For some reason, the back lights weren't coming on, so we traced the wires all through that thing and tried for a couple hours to get it working. In the end, we didn't get it all working, but we had a wonderful time talking about trucks and trailers and tractors and driving cross-country and hauling fancy automobiles to destinations deep in the interior of crowded cities where there wasn't any room for mistakes. And then Bob always talked about these ideas he had - inventions of one kind or another that he wanted to flesh out. He had some really good ones. I just wish we'd had a bit more time to work 'em out.

As for Susan, it was always about the family, her children and grandchildren and what all they were up to. We'd sit at their dining room table and talk for seeming hours about all the goings-on. Always struck me odd that the family was so close by that they could see each other just about any time they wanted. That wasn't the way of my family; it was always a big deal to take a long trip to go and see our family. With her, they were only a phone call and a short car ride away.

Sure was nice to see 'em all again.