Van Go Yooo! Continued

Family

Van Go Yooo! Continued.

Yes, I know I stopped right in the middle of what I was going to write. That is just me, thinking of you. I understand that long articles or stories are harder to have the time to read, but shorter stories can be read without feeling any lost time for searching on Facebook and posting on Facebook.

Notice: This is just a continuation of what you read before. Now, where was I, and what was I going to write then? ….. I think I mentioned summer was about over, and fall would be here. The first sign, of course, would be some of the cooler evenings, which are always appreciated. That means the days are getting shorter and the squirrels are scampering everywhere looking for that last walnut that had been missed while chasing the “foreign” squirrels away from their tree. God meant for the squirrels to be carrying things to other areas. The foreign squirrel may become frightened on his way home, so he drops the nut in the right spot God had planned for another walnut tree to start growing. The squirrel may not know it, but he is just accomplishing what God had planned. Another walnut tree is closer to his territory, so he won’t have to travel as far to find his favorite meal. (Please don’t tell the squirrel that it will probably take his lifetime before the tree will produce any walnuts.)

It doesn’t hurt a historical story to have just a little bit of world-shaking, current news. (I hope I can remember that I said that.)

With fall coming along, and because the weather seems to be holding off the cooler days of winter, Mom and Dad don’t seem to be pressured into preparing for their now routine trip to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Bob (Robert), their oldest son, my older brother, has a Radio Shack business there. His enlistment in the Air Corps trained him for this kind of work: radios with burnt-out tubes that need replacing, and even erecting tall poles for TV antennas. Those of you who are maturing will know what I am saying, but don’t ask your grandchildren what it means. They would probably say, “What are those?” They may have to learn about those on the History Channel. Today’s science classes won’t have details about them.

Now, about Mom and Dad’s fall routine to prepare their trip for a warmer winter.

Their habit for the cold Nebraska winters is to head south towards their oldest son’s residence in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. This could be a quick, pack the suitcases, get munchies for the trip. Be ready for a night or two or three sleeping in the Van Go. Remember, no stopping except for gas and necessary potty breaks. Basically, we will take the shortest route except for those few sightseeing places we agreed upon while planning our trip.

No, that would be too easy. Mom says, “The planning takes thought and even rethinking for a successful winter stay with Bob. When we get there, we want to be able to be busy, like we are here in the summertime. They have places to park and sell things, and that is what we do. So we have to think about who our customers will be and what they might like to purchase.”

“I have to set aside some of each kind of item, so we have the right kind of items to sell, and that will take thinking and rethinking. I don’t want to take what no one would buy. That would be a waste of gas money, that extra weight in the Van-Go. I will start today, searching throughout the house for the right kind of items. Then, when I get what would be enough, I will start packing them in the right-size boxes that will fit beneath our loft-bed in the Van-Go. When I get enough boxes that will fit under our travel-bed, we can start packing our Van-Go.”

Then Mom asks Dad, “What kind of things do you want to take to sell, some of the books you have finished reading?”

With no answer, she looks over at him and sees he is engrossed in his novel. She continues, thinking, I will just pack some of the books I know he won’t read.

Time passes quickly. They both get tired easily from their thoughts and packing, so rest is needed. Time is also needed for meals, and this does add up. You remember all the small dabs of leftover food that Mom has to get out of the refrigerator at each meal until each dab is finished, don’t you? And the time just for sitting to rest without thinking. But with all that is going on, and before the first hint of snow, they are packed, ready to go.

The first place to stop is the local gas station, since they had driven over the river into Missouri several mornings for the regular breakfast ritual. Did I tell you about Mom’s ritual about the coffee she orders for breakfast? Probably not. I am quite forgetful about minor details. She orders the coffee, but also a small container of hot water. I really think that hot water is for orders of tea, but Mom likes to take a few sips of the hot coffee and then add some of the other hot water. That makes the coffee not as strong and more to Mom’s liking. You know, everyone has their own tastes.

The fill-up at the gas station didn’t take any longer than me writing about her preference in coffee, so now they are ready, maps in hand, if needed sunglasses in hand as they head west, into the sun, and then south, through Kansas and on into Oklahoma. It is mostly the same route they take each year.

Dad has a preference for starting in the afternoons when heading west. When the sun gets down, so the sun visors don’t protect his eyes, he will simply pull off to the side of the road, if there are no rest areas in that stretch of the road, and just wait for the sun to go down. He planned to drive through the night but stop somewhere and sleep if he got sleepy. They had their pillows to lean their heads on for comfort.

I remember when I was little, Dad was the same then. We would head to western Nebraska to work in the potato fields. Both Mom and Dad would pick up the potatoes in brown gunny sacks. We, kids, would just shake the potatoes off the vines and put them in little piles so it would be easier and quicker for them to fill their bags. It was hard work for Mom, so she only filled her bag about half full, and then at the end of the day, she would only count about half of the bags she had filled. They were paid for how many pounds of potatoes they would pick up in the bags. Each bag was to be about 50 pounds, and this was too much for Mom to drag easily, so she picked up about 25 pounds but did twice as many bags to make the 50 pounds.

I have to finish this bit of history before I go on. Bob, the oldest, Dennis, the youngest, and I got to ride in the back seat. We rode quite well since we usually slept when it was nighttime. Each of us had our own place in the back seat. Bob, the oldest, got the window on the back of the driver’s side. I got the other window side, and Dennis got the middle area. We just slept; however, it was comfortable for us. I liked the morning time as the sun would start coming up. We would be in the part of the state where the pheasants would climb up on the stacks of hay to make it easier for us to see. Maybe they also just liked to see the sun come up in the morning.

I don’t like my articles being this long, but there is so much to share, I don’t know when to quit.

I’ll put the share, comment, and share buttons down here so I will know if I get any of these, you read the whole thing.

To be continued.

Thanks for reading my memories of days gone by.

5/26/2026

Larry E. Whittington