Vacation is question of sanity ~ August 27, 1987

David Heiller

“I’m going on vacation next week,” I told people last week.

“Where are you going?” they asked.

I braced myself. “Texas.”

“Texas! Why in the world would anyone go to Texas in August?”

Mary Ellen and Emily, one half of the reason
for an August trip to Texas.

“You see, I have a sister there, and my wife is a teacher, so it’s now or never,” I answered with a nervous laugh.

“Oh,” they responded with an uneasy look, and edged away.

I discovered that people do not go to Texas in August. People who have been to Texas know that. It would be like people from Minnesota going to the Canadian wilderness in January to get away from the cold.

Even my sister, who I love dearly (remember, I’m going to Texas in August to see her), seemed a bit surprised to hear we were coming to visit. “What should we bring to wear,” I remember asking her.

There was Texas-sized cousin fun for this trek.

“Don’t worry about any cold weather clothes,” she answered simply. “A cold snap here is eighty degrees.”

That should have sounded warning signals.

I mentioned the vacation to Ed and Gloria Bohaty at the Willow River Mercantile. “Oh, we were in Texas in June to visit our daughter,” Ed said. “It was hot then.” He stopped short of saying the next obvious sentence: “And it’s even hotter now, you idiot.” But I could sense it in his voice.

Once my sanity was firmly established, the next question was, “You’ve flying, huh?”

“No we’re driving,” I answered, steeling myself again.

“Don’t you have a couple kids?” they asked. “How long a trip is it?”

“Yeah, we’ve got two kids, ages four and two,” I replied, “and it’s only a 20 hour trip. They live in the north of Texas, Dallas area.”

It is always good to hang out
with nieces and nephews, even in Texas.

“Well, have a good ‘vacation’,” would be the final reply. The way most people said the word “vacation” made me think they did not consider driving to Texas in August with two kids under the age of five much of a vacation.

Time will tell on that. But as you read this, don’t pity me. Because as I write this my imagination soars. All those wonderful images of Texas. John Wayne fighting to the death at the Alamo. Sure, it was hot and dusty at the Alamo. But what a great day in American history, fighting to defend a fort from land we stole from Mexico. Reminds me of Oliver North.

All that Texas heat and fun and family PLUS Malika got
 a new kitty to "love". 

And Dallas, the bright lights and big city captured on television for the last ten years or so. I’ve only seen the show one time, out of respect for my mother, who had me watch the opening episode last year. Bobby Ewing, whoever he is, was coming back from the dead, and sure enough, he stepped out of the shower, and not a bit emaciated. The viewer was then led to believe that Bobby had not been dead at all, that the previous year’s shows had been a dream. That was the last Dallas episode I watched, and the last for my mother too.

No. I have a feeling we’re enjoying this vacation. Like a true Minnesotan, I’m curious whether Dallas is fact or fancy, whether we can survive the car ride and the weather once we get there.

It’s a Texas-sized challenge.