Paladin Roaming

Day One

Group Hug!! -- Amanda, Helena, Mike, Wendy, Teresa, Cory being held and Pepper not siting.

Our last for a while. Helena is leaving home to start a new life in Arkansas. Why Arkansas -- the same reason children have been leaving home since the dawn of time: that's where Bob is.

Not wanting to leave a packed car overnight on the street, I got up at 6am to pack Helena's 25" TV, DVD, mid-tower computer, 14" monitor, five boxes of stuff, a boom box, a 4" refractor telescope on a tripod, an 18" off-road R/C car, and a few odds and ends tucked into spaces. For the road there is a $50 Sears Companion Mechanics tool kit, four quarts of oil, three quarts transmission fluid, a case of sodas, a case of bottled water, a Chilton's manual, Windex, paper towels, and two rolls of Northern Toilet Paper (cannot be sure of finding the soft stuff on the road.)

Wendy is going with Helena as company and to help with driving. She'll be flying back. They have their cell phones, but I'm on a regional plan so they will be mostly off to avoid roaming charges. A pack of AT&T calling cards will be used to report back as they travel.

The car is the 1994 Ford Escort that my brother gave to Helena just over two years ago. It had over 100,000 miles and he wanted a new car. It now has nearly 130,000 miles, new tires, recently cleaned engine which checked out A-OK.

With one last wistful look, Wendy drives off.

I miss her.

Posted by at June 19, 2004 10:49 AM