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ChatterLei

Bonnie Doons

It is a sunny 81 degrees here at home. Blue sky sans clouds, no humidity, and only the slightest hint of smoke in the distance.

Two trips back and forth to Indiana in the last five weeks added over 7000 miles to the odometer on our car. My husband’s brother was laid to rest  and we spent time making simple memories with his adult children and his grandchildren.

I could not help but think about the moments he will miss in their lives, as well as ours, from now on. I realized he passed away before learning that his little brother (my husband) and I became great-grandparents. Our granddaughter had a healthy 8lb 8oz baby girl on July 27th. 

It seems very often that when a family member of the older generation dies, a baby is born around or not long after that.

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My husband and I have decided we both really enjoy taking road trips together. It has taken him a while to decide that a vacation can involve other things than a fishing boat and poles. It can include visits with family and friends he has not seen in a long time.

(I am sitting outside while writing. There are a set of train tracks about a half or three-fourths of a mile from our house. The train whistle is blowing. I love that sound. Incidentally, while in Indiana, we learned the trains are not allowed to blow their horns. We never heard a train whistle the whole time we were there.)

One afternoon, while in Indiana, my husband wanted my daughter and me to go with him for ice cream at the place where he worked when he was 14. This was his third job. His first job was washing walls and washing dishes for his grandpa at the VFW in town.

Anyway, we walked through the door at Bonnie Doons. It was like stepping back in time to the 50’s or 60’s–brighly colored tables, chairs with chrome legs, and 45’s strung together hanging around the curtains by the windows. I expected “The Fonz” to walk around the corner at any moment. The juke box was conspicuously absent, but the decor was definitely vibing that time period. My husband, looking around, said it looked exactly the same as when he worked there. For him, it was like he time-warped 53 years back to his past.

It was a cool moment to share with him.

Our ice cream treat tasted a little more special that day.

3 responses to “Bonnie Doons”

  1. Darryl B Avatar
    Darryl B

    What a great throwback to another (better?) era. It’s wonderful when you find something from the past is still there, unspoiled. My grandparents lived in Daytona Beach and it was hot, so my brother and I slept on the screened-in front porch. Every night at certain times, we’d hear the locomotives tooting their mournful song from about 1/2 mile away. Last time I was there, I was alone and parked the car across from their old house… just as I remembered, the ol’ 11:15 FEC freight train announced its presence right on time…a very cool and reassuring moment 😎

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. ChatterLei Avatar
      ChatterLei

      Thank you for sharing your walk down memory lane. I could picture it all in my mind.

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  2. nancyb422 Avatar
    nancyb422

    I live maybe a half mile up the hill from the main railroad line in my Connecticut town. We hear train whistles all the time. Every morning I hear the 5:35 train after I hear my neighbor’s car start at 5:30. I’ll be out of bed in 10 minutes so it’s ok!
    My husband and I enjoy a variety of vacations and after 2 trips to the same location we both agree, it’s time for something else!
    Congratulations on the great grandchild and again, condolences on the passing of your brother in law.

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