In Pursuit of Mysteries

At the Airport

It turns out that the little airport in Gillette, Wyoming has wifi for free (unlike the pay wifi in most).

I’m waiting to get on my flight to get home right now. I should be back in Seattle around 10:00 PM tonight.

The last couple of days have been interesting. My father’s sister and her daughters showed up in town early Sunday morning. These are the closest cousins that I have in the family and they live in the Seattle area. They brought my dad’s half-sister, Deborah, who used to watch me as a child as she was my dad’s ward for a decade after their mom died in the 70’s. I hadn’t seen Deborah since we were kids (she’s about five years older than me). One of my cousins is finishing up her Master’s in Social Work and has a Bachelor’s in Social Work already. The other is finishing up her undergrad degree. The former was even more appalled by the political rhetoric floating around than I was and my aunts and cousins pointed out the male-focused attitudes of much of our family as well. We got to hang out Sunday night at another cousin’s place, have drinks, and otherwise relax. It was nice after being there for the week.

On Memorial Day, we drove down to the town of Newcastle where most of our kin are buried. We put the plaque on the grave that I had gone to South Dakota to get for my dad. The family stood around, we shared some memories of my onery cuss of a father, had a laugh or two and then we all went back to my great-uncle’s place for food.

One of my cousins out there helped me retrieve my dad’s 91 Dodge Stealth Turbo that had been towed a week ago and he’s going to be buying it from me. We have to figure out how well it runs. Another cousin and her husband have already gotten verbal approval from the bank for a loan to buy the storefront that my dad owned in town so I wrote up an agreement for us (at their request) for the price, etc. and we had it notarized this morning. So, within the next two months, I should have that place sold off, which will be a big relief to me.

I actually had a good time hanging out with my cousins from Washington. I haven’t seen them much this last decade so it was good to connect with them as adults in our 30’s. I also got their mom, my dad’s closest sister, to explain certain things in my dad’s history that I was fuzzy about.

It will be good to be home. R and I are leaving on Thursday or Friday for the 13 hour drive to California. We had an open house this weekend for our home so it is on the market now. I’m looking forward to things being calmer soon…

More of the same…

Last night, I spent the evening with my dad’s family (my dad’s uncle who owns a big house here, his kids and grandkids, and my grandfather). It was the birthday of my dad’s cousin.

I got to here my great-uncle Ray, as he watched Fox News and Oreilly, use the ‘Nigger’ word multiple times. After that, let’s just say that he and I had a political conversation while his wife, my great-aunt Bertha, yelled at us to shut up about politics. These guys are right wing whackos.

This morning, I walked into the family restaurant, where I’ve been eating, to find him eating breakfast and we had a further political conversation.

He means well and he’s got to be about 70 years old but I really have to bite my tongue. Others here aren’t quite as bigoted but in a normal situation, I would have had much stronger words and walked out.

Today, his granddaughter (my second cousin) and her husband stopped by the store about the same time uncle Ray and my grandfather Lou showed up. None of them had been inside the place in a decade. They looked around and my cousin and I got to speak privately. I’d been told that she was interested and she is. She’s already spoken to a banker and I told her what I wanted for the place (my dad’s minimum price). She said that she would buy it for that (damn, should have asked for more!).

I spoke to my lawyer earlier in the week and when I exit probate in Colorado for my dad’s estate at the end of June, we’ll be able to file additional papers which can then be sent to Wyoming, which is a bit behind the times legally. At that point, in July or so, I can sell the properties that my dad owned. I have never sold a property without an agent but I expect that I’ll do so to my cousin for this place.

This is a bit of a relief as the other places are houses and I have renters in them managed by a realty company so they are being taken care of. I was afraid, given the lack of economy in this 870 person town, that I might be stuck with the store forever. My cousin wants to open a second hand business so she needs the space.

This is my last Internet access until Tuesday (the library is closed this weekend). See you!

Any rock as long as it is classic rock

It seems like you can get three things on the radio here:

1. Bible Preachin’
2. Country Music
3. Classic Rock

Needless to say, while driving, I’m opting for option #3. Luckily, my dad left computer speakers behind in his old place. While I’m cleaning, I can plug my Ipod in and listen to Industrial music or my podcasts.

My grandfather and his wife made it into town last night so I wound up pulled over to his brother’s massive house outside of town. I hadn’t been there before this. I was stuck there much of the evening but met a number of my cousins that I hadn’t seen since the family reunion in 1990.

This morning, my cousin Eddie (who was actually my dad’s cousin) and I drove down to Newcastle, about 30 miles away, to try to retrieve my dad’s 91 Dodge Stealth that the town helpfully towed last week. The owner of the yard was out so we couldn’t get it and the flunky there didn’t know the bill.

We came back and I drove the two house to Rapid City, South Dakota. My dad’s 124 lb. plaque for his grave was waiting there. I went through Sturgis on the way there and back, which was new. The plaque now resides in my car’s trunk until Monday. It is a hefty piece of granite. Between this and trying to get the car, six hours or so of my day disappeared. My cousin’s birthday is today as well so I am expected over for dinner.

By this weekend, my aunt, who lives near Seattle, and her two daughters and other family should be here. Beyond that, I’m still working on cleaning up my dad’s space and tracking down other paperwork locally.