SAN FRAN

Joni…our youngest…and her husband Ryan are in California for about 10 days. They will attend one of Joni’s school friends’ wedding this weekend…and then hang around next week to do some touristy stuff.

While having a non-sleep night last night/this morning…I headed to the living room and flipped on the TV to disrupt my brain that was running 100mph. I watched a part of a PBS show called ‘The War’…one of those Ken Burns documentaries about the 2nd World War. It was a wonderful segment about the boys who became men in that war…about what they saw…about what they returned home to…about their struggles with adjusting ‘back into the world’.

While my mind raced…my thoughts were about Joni being near San Francisco…and about my brother Dave…who lived in the San Francisco area until April…when he died. Joni and Ryan had planned this trip for nearly a year and Dave was aware they were coming for a visit…and while there…they were going to visit him.

As I thought about that…and watched the TV show…I also got to thinking about Dave’s time of service in the Navy. Dave wasn’t in WWII…as the documentary discussed…but Dave served in Vietnam…and I know he came home with lots of memories…some good…some bad. In these recent years…Dave was able to share some of those stories…some of the good ones that made him smile…and the horror that some of them caused him…some for 45 years.

I’m sad that Dave is gone…and sad that Joni & Ryan can’t visit with him while they are there. He would have loved it. He would have enjoyed showing them the sights of San Francisco and it would have been so enjoyable for them too.

Joni & Ryan will have a wonderful time in San Francisco and the other areas of California that they will visit.

I will miss them while they are gone. And I miss Dave.

Dan