Dakotas, All Day

Yesterday when we were talking to Benjamin on the phone, as we drove out of Chicago, we told him we were trying to decide whether it was just silly to go to North Dakota. It is really not on the way to any of our destinations, so it seemed like a unnecessary side trip.  Of course, the original motivation for this route was to get to the last four states in the Lower 48 that Jon and I have never been through.  Benjamin encouraged us to make the effort, knowing that we might not come this way again anytime soon.  He even said we should go to Fargo while we were at it.

In the end, we went to North Dakota but not all the way to Fargo.  We spent most of the day on two lane highways.  There aren't any diagonal roads so we had to just go west or north or south, nothing in between.  The view was glorious, wide, with the horizon surrounding us in all directions.  We drove and drove. Both North and South Dakota are pretty much how I imagined them, a lot like Nebraska.  At least the flat parts.  Toward the end of the day we got to much more rolling terrain, which reminds me of the hills outside Jerusalem where the Bedouin tents are often pointed out. Nothing but brown grass, no trees, no bushes.

At first we listened to Diane Rehm and other news programs that talked about the ongoing terrorist/hostage crisis in France.  After we were educated enough about that horribleness, we turned it off.  

Not too long after that Mom called to say that she thought Darryl had died in his chair in his room, but she wasn't entirely certain so she sent Michael Lipsky to check.  Several phone calls back and forth with confirmation, ideas for what to do next, etc.  I called Anna and she got Gordon to go right over, and between all of them they figured out what to do (call the police, which is what Jon said from the very beginning). It seems that Darryl had a rough week with the cold weather, he seemed very tired while coping with snow and car stuckness isssues but yesterday he picked up his grandson Kirin as usual and took him swimming.  After coming home from the pool he apparently sat down in his chair and never got up again.

This is not the right space for telling all about Darryl, but I will say that my recent interactions with him (last Friday when we went to buy him an iPhone) made me think that he was in a pretty happy place, compared to sometimes.  As we drove to do our extended errand, he talked about getting his affairs settled, and we even talked about what might happen to him when he got too old to take care of himself.  He said that he really just hoped he just died before that became an issue.  After we got back with his new phone, he and Alissa spent a jolly hour or so together getting Darryl into this century.  Everyone was highly entertained, especially when he suddenly found himself Facetiming with his niece -- an experience he didn't even know was possible. He laughed a lot.

So while we were hurtling directly toward the sun, at home there was a flurry of activity with police and fire trucks and investigation to make sure there was no foul play.  Anna and Gordon and Michael and Jim and Mom and Michael L and Carrie hung out together, being Darryl's family while all this got settled.  Eventually the funeral home came to take him away and his real family will figure out the next steps. I am sure that Darryl's farm family will have a memorial service for him, and we will be able to process this more properly.  At the moment I am just glad for him that he did not suffer, now or later, and that he was able to be the independent curmudgeon he wanted to be, right up to his last swim.  We will miss him.  I miss him already.  (The picture below shows where we were when Mom called.)

We also missed Joe's funeral today but Nell told me it was a sanctuary-crowding event, and Joe was honored and remembered by all who loved him.

We drove through Pierre, now added to our list of state capitals visited. (When we finish these 49 states, we can start our quest for 50 state capitals.)

They have a pond next to the capitol (unfrozen, we haven't figured that out yet) where there are thousands of damn geese. We are happy to see they are not all in NoVA.

I am confused by the quiet time changes.  We are in Rapid City, South Dakota in a roasty toasty motel room.  Very sleepy for 9 PM.