The World Wide Web of memories

It seems as though any place you go in the world, you have some sort of connection with that place. Whether a small, thin thread or a big, thick rope, it's there. In Scotland, it was ancestors and the shared fight for independence. In Indiana, of course, it's family, memories, and where I was born. Sitting here on the last leg of my journey back to Maine, I'm making the flight connection in the Philadelphia Airport. A few years ago, Scheie Eye Institute, in the University of Philadelphia, invited Katie and Alex to be part of an on-going study of their eyes/eye condition (Leber's Congenital Amorosis). My father drove from North Carolina to Philadelphia and met us here so we would have a car (his) and driver (him). He picked us up at the train station, took us to our hotel, had Tasty Cakes and stuff from Stukey's there (both of which we don't get in Maine). The next day, we went to the Eye Institute, where they spent about 10 hours in tests, eye exams, etc. They are looking for a cure, a way to prevent it, or at least a way to reverse it. The folowing day, we all went to the Philadelphia Zoo, which was so much fun. It was in the middle of winter, Alex had sprained his ankle the week before so he was in an air cast and pretty miserable, but that misery disappeared when he got bitten by the pot bellied pig!!!! He also made a friend when the iguana was staring eye-to-eye with him; every time Alex moved, so did the iguana!! My dad always told that story. It was really cute. I have some good pictures of Katie, Alex, and my father there.

So, flying into here reminds me of the time he cared enough to drive here so we wouldn't be "all alone and lost" in this big city. The next times the University wanted Katie and Alex, they flew us down, put us up in a hotel near the Eye Institute, and had a car come for us. But the first time was the most fun when we took the bus from Bangor to Boston, "hopped" on the Amtrack to Philadelphia, had the train stall in the snowstorm--lights dimmed, etc--then spent the weekend with my father getting lost, making bathroom pitstops at high-class hotels, and eating good food.

So, no matter where life takes me, there is always a memory waiting to happen, or a memory resurrected for a smile.

My plane for Portland is about ready to board. This has been a good journey. I hated to have to bury my father, but the good memories will never die, and the new ties with my Indiana Family will stay with me. I'm proud of my Hoosier heritage once again, and glad I had a chance to renew it. Everywhere I travel, I'll think of him and know that his love of traveling, laughter, making "new friends", and re-aquanting with old ones lives on in me; the World Wide Web of Memories continues..... Thanks, Dad. I love you.