OCR Text |
Show Page 8 THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume X Issue III May 15, 2004 Bright Eyes, Pavorotti, Whamsutter, and a Too Small SUV By Drienie Hattingh It was somewhere between Lincoln and Whamsutter (Wyoming) when a blood chilling scream interrupted a lovely ballad by Pavarotti, “Mom! Mom!!! My fingers, my fingers—the window!!! Roll down the window!!!” I looked over to my daughter and saw her hand stuck in the window. I fumbled with the electric buttons and got the window down. Earlier, she had opened her window and stuck her fingers out to feel how cold it was. I felt a cold wind on my neck and thought that one of the back windows was down and, afraid that “stuff” would blow out of the windows, I pushed all the electric window buttons to ensure that all the windows were closed. That is when I crunched the window down on my child’s fingers. Her hand is fine and I am happy to say that that was the worst thing that happened during my 3,000 mile trip to Minnesota and back! Our youngest decided to come home for a year or so and I decided to drive to Minnesota to bring her and her belongings back in my new Trailblazer. Johan wanted to drive with me to the Twin Cities and fly back but I refused. Luckily my husband respects my driving capabilities, and I thank him for caring and also for not being a male chauvinist. I was looking forward to the trip and alone time. Nothing else to do but drive and admire the scenery and listen to my favorite music! And I will never tire or take for granted America’s wide open spaces. So it was on a cold, early spring morning that I kissed and hugged Johan goodbye. I made a quick stop at The Eden Coffee and Cocoa Company and got a large Latte with two espresso shots from Justin; then I started my long trek to Minnesota. I smiled, thinking of Johan, as I left our Valley behind and entered the Canyon. Even though Johan was worried about me driving alone, he would never dream of stopping me. The day before I left I started stressing because time was running out so he offered to take my SUV to be serviced. Then he went beyond the call of duty and drove to Layton and got me an audio suspense novel, The Bone Vault, from the Cracker Barrel Country Store and a map of this store’s locations en route to Minnesota so I could exchange it for another after I finished listening to the first one. He also printed exact maps out from the Internet of my trip to Minnesota with places where I could sleep over. It was a great trip. I listened to the audio Just Listed! Huntsville 6 BD, 2.5 BA Over 1 acre. Gorgeous lake & mtn. views! $349,000! enough space for her guitar and drum. She suggested that we use the comforters and pillows to secure them. At last, the pile of stuff on the frozen ground was in the car. I managed to close the back door by slamming it down . . . hard. The comforters and pillows would have to be pushed through the back window! Back in the apartment we vacuumed and gave the kitchen and bathroom a final clean and managed to accumulate another pile of stuff that was somehow not packed. We went outside and opened the electric side windows and pushed and crammed the stuff through them. Miraculously, the windows closed! It was so late by then that we decided to spend the night on comforters and pillows on the floor. As we settled down onto our make shift beds, I turned down the lamp which I realized wasn’t in the car. “Mom . . . ” my youngest said sleepily. “We slept like this that first night when I moved in here, remember?” Early the next day I stood looking at the empty, almost hygienically clean apartment; a feeling of melancholy took over. We had spent some good times here when I visited and my daughter was going to miss her friends. Their young voices and music seemed to echo through the empty rooms as I closed the door for the final time. The final thing we did before getting into the car was to tie my daughter’s bike on the roof and off we went. The trip back was a breeze! We did it! Who ever doubted that? We passed the time—1,450 miles back to Utah in amazingly inventive ways. We got another audio book, The De Vinci Code, and while we drove through Iowa we looked for rocks (there are no rocks in Iowa, we’d heard—we saw three.) We listened to Afrikaans Comedians on CD “Ach please Daddy— take us to the Rugby . . . Popcorn, chewing gum, ginger ale, and Eskimo pies. . . . ” We sang along. Every now and again we amused ourselves by leaving the freeway and getting coffee at truck stops while driving through funny little towns like Whamsutter (definitely the worst) and Green River (the cutest.). And I suffered through Bright Eyes and Mason Jennings CD’s while my daughter suffered through my Rod Steward, Afrikaans Ballads, and Great Tenor CD’s. Then we listened to the audio book again and laughed at the reader’s intriguing French accents. Then I closed the window on my child’s fingers. It was incredibly wonderful driving over Trapper’s Loop and seeing the stars twinkle above our peaceful Valley down below. We made it home—safe and sound—and Johan and I am empty nesters no more. book, alternating it with favorite CD’s. I made good time on I-80 where I could drive 79 miles an hour. I slept over in Lincoln, Nebraska and left early the next morning and continued listening to my audio book and CD’s while I enjoyed the rolling black fertile farm lands of Iowa. Then the scenery changed from flat to rolling green hills as I entered the “Land of Sky Blue Waters.” I arrived in the Twin Cities and spent time with three of my best friends—Marlene, Barb, and Mary. They were all in awe that I’d traveled so far on my own. I felt so proud of myself. I was thinking, “I’ll just go and get my child and we’ll pack the SUV and clean her apartment and soon we’ll be on our way back to Utah.” My hand stopped in mid air just as I was about to pat myself on the back for being such a strong, capable woman when I saw my daughter’s apartment. She had already started emptying closets and it was a mess . . . piles everywhere; a pile for welfare, a pile to throw away, and a pile to keep. I could hardly see the bed and the futon where we were supposed to sleep. We decided to stay in a motel the rest of the week. We were happy to close the door of the chaotic apartment and walk into a neat, clean room every night where we could have a wonderful, relaxing bath and fall into a lovely bed and sleep. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday cleaning, packing, cleaning, packing and then we cleaned some more. The stove and fridge had to be cleaned, inside and out. We learned all about how to clean a very, very dated (non-self-cleaning) oven and (nonautomatic-defrosting) fridge. We removed 10 inches of ice outside of the freezer, and ½ an inch of stuff from the oven. It seemed the cleaning and packing would never end! But the worst was almost behind us—or so I thought. Thursday—the day before we would head back to Utah—friends came and loaded my SUV with furniture that they wanted. Whitney wanted the table and chairs and computer. Jamie wanted the futon, Clint the easy chairs. No one had a truck so I offered to take the stuff to their homes all over Duluth and even to Wisconsin; I was just happy to get rid of the stuff. They raved about how we could fit so much in the back of the Trailblazer! “I know!” I said smugly. That’s why I came with the SUV! We had lunch with our friends and said our final goodbyes. That afternoon the carpet cleaners came and afterward I contentedly retired to my hotel room and had a nice bath and slept soundly. “We’re almost done,” I thought. Friday morning dawned with 10 degrees below zero weather and flying snow. We checked out of the hotel. We’d just pack the car, give the apartment a final vacuum, and the kitchen and bathroom another once over, then be on our way. Then my cell phone rang; it was the landlord. He had to go through the apartment with us before we left. I did not know that. He asked if I had cancelled all the services. I did—except the mail. I got a funny aching spot in the pit of my stomach . . . it must be hunger. We decided to have a good brunch before packing the car. I called the Post Office to give the address change but heard that we had to physically go and sign a form. It was 2:00 p.m. when we eventually got back to the apartment. The brunch did not get rid of that achy spot in my stomach—it actually felt worse. We decided to first carry all the stuff out and put it next to the car so we could determine how to pack the car. Soon the apartment was empty, except for the comforters and pillows. It was when I carried a box full of porcelain fairies out to the car when I saw it! I did not even feel freezing blast of wind that delivered icy snow in my face. I almost tripped over my own frozen feet. “Mom . . . be careful, my fairies!” My daughter, carrying another box, called out behind me. Tears of self-pity froze on my cheeks. “What’s wrong?” she wanted to know. “What do you mean—‘what’s wrong?’” I exploded. “Look at that!” The pile of “stuff” was higher than the car. “It’s never going to fit!” I whimpered into the howling wind. My daughter was remarkably calm. “Oh Mom . . . of course it will! It’s an SUV! You’ll see!” She put her box down and took the box out of my hands. Then the landlord arrived. He was just about to say something but he took one look at my face and then at the pile of stuff and took my frozen hands in his and sympathetically shook his head. I’ll never know if he was just nice when he walked through the apartment. “Wow! You did such a good job with the cleaning! Thank you!” Coward! He was scared that I’d burst into tears if he said anything negative. The car filled up quicker than I could say “SUV.” I got inside and my daughter handed boxes and bags to me. I pushed, shifted, shoved, and piled. It seemed that she was going to hand me stuff forever and ever. “Mom, remember my music instruments! They cannot be squashed!” Music instruments? What music instruments? I sat back on my knees—defeated. Then my daughter took over and suggested we take the five boxes of books out and let a friend mail them to Utah. She climbed into the car and rearranged the boxes and bags so to leave Spectacular Huntsville home on 1.6 acres, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths Gorgeous office, huge covered porch. Reduced to $524,900! Just Listed! Incredible setting. Pine tree forest. 6 BD, 2 BA, barn,1.9 acres. Must see! $250,000! Just Listed! Beautiful home on 4.89 acres. Over 6500 sq.ft. Includes spacious mother-in-law apartment. $535,000 Just Listed! Huntsville 3 BD 3. BA, on 2.13 acres. Horse barn, 30’x49’ shop $275,000! Country Living! Comfy 3BD, 2.5 BA, office, FR,on .92 acre. horse property. $237,200! Eden Mini-Ranch 1.69 acre 3 BD, 2 BA, w/full basement ready to finish. $215,900! Radford Hills executive home w/ incredible views! Over 4700 Sq. Ft.! Beautiful 6 BD, 3 BA, ex- 2 BD, 2BA, office, 3-car gar. on 1 acre $325,000! tra shop, new paint, magnificent views. $310,000! Just Listed! Mountain Green Over 6100 sq.ft. 1.6 acres quiet road. Spectacular views. $449,900! Huntsville Spacious home on 5 AC. Some finish work still needed. Reduced to $249,900! Liberty. 2 BD, 2 BA .94 acres $154,900! Just Listed! Huntsville-2 beautiful Lots of Space! 6 BD, 3 BA 2.3 AC. 1.78 acre bldg lots, horse property, irrigation, culinary $279,900! 3.22 acre Evergreen Estates rec. lot. $32,000 Build Your Dream Home. 2.64 acres $89,500 Patio Springs bldg lot. cul-de-sac, level lot. $56,500 Mtn Green bldg. Approx. 1.8 AC, $154,500 $99,900 each Easy Fit Within Your Budget! 5 BD, 2 BA, rambler on 1 AC! Beautiful new kitchen, flooring, and paint. Just needs you! Reduced to $174,900! Nordic Valley area building lot. 2.95 acres. Stream and lots of trees. $89,900! Huntsville Cove at River Run 3 BD, Unfinished basement Gorgeous home. 2 acres. $359,900! 2 building lots on Aspen Dr. Lots back to Wolf Creek Golf Course. Stream, lots of trees. Approx. 1 ac each. Incredible location. $129,900 each! Dyan Gill 801-644-5853 |