Go West Young Man

It's FLASBACK FRIDAY and will share a condensed version of our travels to California the end of December 1978 into January 1979.  The posts will come in dribs and drabs over the course of weeks

For those of you who may not know, IBM had a very strict dress code.  They could only wear white shirts, tie and suit; no sport coats/slacks.  So when Gary had his exit interview he decided to wear bib overalls and flannel shirt to the office instead of his normal attire.  His joke being that was the dress code for western folk.

Sorry for the corrupt photo, wherever it was processed did a lousy job as several photos have deteriorated over the years.

December 24, 1978

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, all the creatures were anxious, even the mouse'.

   

As Christmas is upon us we are all tense in anticipation of the 2,800 mile trip to northern California.  I have mixed emotions about this great adventurous journey.  The family will be a huge loss in our life.  Instead of the 2 hour drive to visit them from Bowie, MD it would take a flight and drive to see them.

Yesterday (12/23) we had our last dinner celebration here in Bowie.  It was mother's birthday so she and Pat (my stepfather), Gary's brothers and wives, my uncles, Aunts, my brother and wife, my father and his wife and everyone's pets came to share a last meal together for a while.

The men all helped Gary prepare the van for her mighty haul to the west coast.  The van would be pulling our Int'l Scout which would also serve as the warehouse for needful things during our trip.  It's funny, we have had the van for over a year but 5 days before the big trip Gary takes on the big task of remolding the van for our travelling pleasure.  

They weren't small jobs either.  He put in a bay window so son Greg could see part of the U.S., put in a longer seat, replaced the radio and antenna, put in a socket for head phones for 8 track, paneled and insulated the van and secured speakers under the seat.  After the men worked on the van for a while and after several beers later we had a dinner fit for a king.  There was turkey, baked ham and all the trimmings.

It was bittersweet later in the afternoon as Eric (Gary's brother) gave us a jar filled with eastern shore farmland black soil and Assateague Island sand.  He gave son Greg an old pair of his spoons (Eric taught Greg how to play spoons one night at Trader Lee's Village in Ocean City, MD, and an old soiled striped Bass Fishing hat.

My brother Joey and wife gave us two coffee cups, a Delaware and Maryland so every morning with coffee we'd remember where HOME was.  Everyone was hugging, crying and saying their 'good-byes'.  What better Christmas present to each other than the expression of love.

The saga will continue next Thursday.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com