Grandpa sent me a quiz of his own for his four children to answer about the vacations they used to take as children. Notice how Scott remembers nearly nothing which means he was either functionally retarded or extremely young. And Stephen doesn't fare much better, probably because he was drawing his butt off the whole time.
1. What was the last thing we did together before taking to the road?
Phyllis: You want us to say, "Prayed" but I'm thinking fighting over who was touching me because they weren't staying in their space in the Rambler.
Stephen: I dunno...
Trish: Wash the Car! No, wash the car then pray! No, pray then wash the car! I can’t remember, how about praying in the carwash?
Scott: car wash
2. What State were we in when someone said, "It sure is green out here in this desert?
Phyllis: Arizona
Stephen: Montana?
Trish: Hmm, who would that someone be? Let’s see, where are the badlands?
Scott: Ummm.
3. How did Steve manage to be in 4 States at one time?
Phyllis: Four Corners...where he talked to the Indian
Stephen: Four corners.
Trish: Why of course the four corners, and a twister like pose!
Scott: Utah, AZ, NM, Col-by standing in the square with hands and feet...
4. What did the World's Biggest Prairie Dog look like?
Phyllis: Cement...and we drove for miles and miles to find him. What a letdown. Gray cement.
Stephen: Big concrete gimmick.
Trish: Like one big hunk of cement laughing at us for being such suckers! (Little did he know what a chuckle we would get remembering! Or maybe he did know.)
Scott: Plastic [Thank you Scott, that will be all. Don't call us, we'll call you!]
5. What Old Creature did the kids ride without a saddle?
Phyllis: Tortoise (sp?)
Stephen: Giant turtle.
Trish: The GIANT Tortoise
Scott: Turtle-would never fly today
6. What was the name of the drug store that had road signs advertising "Free Ice Water?"
Phyllis: I have no recollection of the drug store.
Trish: Hmm, got me.
Scott: ? I was 6
Stephen: Wahl Drugs.
7. What historic event did we hear on radio in a North West State?
Stephen: dunno...
Trish: We get to sleep in a motel tonight?
Scott: Elvis croaked?
Phyllis: I heard of Bobby Kennedy's assassination.
8. How did we sleep 6 people in a station wagon on a stormy night?
Stephen: Tightly.
Phyllis: VERY VERY tightly...
Trish: Did we really sleep? I think the kids slept but I am not sure about mom and dad. Thank God for the Rambler and “pallets”!
Scott: Floors [Is Scott just saying random words at this point?]
9. How did we cook some meals on a picnic table in a park?
Phyllis: Either a tiny BQ grill or dad's cigarette lighter...
Stephen: Sterno.
Trish: Thermo heated pan
Scott: Portable stove with butane canisters [Well look who's awake!]
10. What did the kids get tired of seeing?
Stephen: Mountains
Scott: mountains
Trish: Mountains, Mountains, Mountains, Mountains, Mountains…….
Phyllis: MOUNTAINS!!!!
Phyllis adds:
You forgot to ask what we ate for breakfast every morning in the car.....WHITE POWDERED DONUTS and TANG!
You forgot to ask what was the most frequent backdrop in our family vacation pictures.....PRESIDENTS GRAVES.
We saw more graves and Presidents homes than anything.
There must be 20 pictures of us standing in front of tombstones/monuments. To this day I find them fascinating.
Here's the real question...see if Trish knows....
What sin did mom/grandma commit that she prayed Jesus wouldn't come back during?
3 comments:
Earbobs? Pants? I'm not sure. Maybe she took a rock for the table she made (it really was ingenious and cool) A slippery slope! She looked really snazzy in her sunglasses and polyester pantsuit that she later turned into a skirt and top. You have to hand it to her -there is nothing she can't do;if she can dream it she will figure it out! Be proud mom - we are proud of you! Trish
It was the purchase and wearing of the total "70's" wild print polyester pantsuit! I remember loving it. She was tiny and looked cute in it. She had to buy "britches" to climb down in the Grand Canyon. We talked her into a pantsuit because they were so "in"(she thought pants were a sin for a woman to wear) and if she said it once she said it ten times, "I sure hope Jesus doesn't come back while I have these britches on". (you have to realize that to do swimming in Tennessee creek Mom would pin our dresses with a safety pin between our knees) She also would not allow ANY pictures to be taken of her in her pantsuit. Mom obviously does not believe in one shred of eternal security or actually even grace for that matter...ha! Just joshing you mom.
What I wouldn't give for that coffee table Trish mentioned. THAT could have gotten mom on Martha Stewart's program.
How come we didn't get the answers to this quiz?
What the next generation needs to know about this wild traveling we did_____ it was done with a homemade pop up camper. Home made translates in "made with wood". Wood is heavy. I still can't believe Dad would set that up every night. And we would whine when he made us help. Dad would map our vacations out weeks before....from one Presidents house to the next...and we STAYED on the schedule. He always knew exactly where we were going to camp. We would all be antsy from the day of driving and not much help setting things up. I even remember watching him do it in the rain. I tease about the Presidents homes but in reality, dad wanted us to see the United States and we saw a lot that left good impressions on us. We weren't the Disney Land family. We saw State Parks and the big beautiful world God made for us to enjoy. You have not traveled until you have seen Yellowstone...the Grand Canyon...the Badlands...the Smokies...the desserts of Arizona...the mountains of Colorado...the nothingness of Kansas....good memories.
Dad and I really got some laughs from your answers to his questions and from your comments. It was interesting to read some of your memories. That pant suit rated pretty high on the memory list.
I have graded your answers to see who got the most correct.
1. The joke has been the car wash. It was so frustrating for us to be packed in the car ready to leave and have to go through the car wash.
2. No one (Kansas)
3. Scott (All had the right place but Scott told how Steve managed.)
4. Phyllis, Trish & Steve.
5. All
6. Steve (Wahl drugstore)
7. No one (Armstrong landed on the moon.)
8. None exactly but it was tight. (We were in the blue station wagon)
9. Steve (sterno)
10. All
I love you all!
Mom
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