Our plan was to spend two nights in Indiana – one in Lafayette to visit one of Angie’s long-time family friends and one in Terre Haute where we wanted to visit Hank’s sister, Eleanor’s, widower, Glenn and several of his children and grandchildren. However, in order to replace the front window of our trailer and the deformed bike rack, we had to spend an extra night in Lafayette.
Brian, the husband of Angie’s friend, Ann, connected us to an independent RV repair guy who came to their house to complete the window replacement. The job was easier than expected, due to the trailer manufacturer’s excellent design. The the window panes were connected to the trailer with their own screws, separate from the window frame that penetrated the trailer body. Unfortunately, the replacement bike rack could not be delivered until the following day.
In order to stay on schedule, Hank drove from Lafayette to Terre Haute, 100 miles each direction, so he could visit the Perry family while Angie stayed in Lafayette to oversee the repair and continue her visit with Ann and Brian. Ann was Angie’s late mother’s closest friend and neighbor. Ann and Nan led parallel lives. They were neighbors, each had three kids the same ages, got divorced and decided to enter nursing school around the same time and both worked in Providence Hospital in Seattle. When Angie was still living in Virginia Beach, Ann was a tremendous help in managing Nan’s medications and monitoring her well-being. Ann moved to Indiana to be near her son in four years ago. Whenever we brought Nan to our home for a visit, we would arrange a phone call with Ann so they could catch up.
We had a delightful visit with Ann and Brian. Brian is a retired entreprenuer who had owned his own excavation, hauling and taxi businesses. They live on five acres which they have sculpted into a lovely park-like setting. Our second night in Lafayette, we were able to park our trailer in their driveway near their garage which had a 30-amp power outlet. That allowed us to power up the air conditioner to assure our comfort.
Hank had a pleasant visit with Glenn Sr., Mary (Glenn Jr.’s wife) and Mary’s five children – Julianna (15), Elizabeth (14), Benjamin (13), Audrey and William. Glenn Jr. and his sister, Lucy, were not present. Glenn and Eleanor’s daughter, Barbara, greeted Hank briefly before leaving on an errand. Glenn and Hank reminisced about Hank’s first visit to Terre Haute in 1980, when he was transiting from Pennsylvania to San Francisco after graduating from Penn State. We also talked about past family reunions and the genealogical history of our respective ancestors.
Hank enjoyed getting to know Benjamin, who shared some cool space sounds from planets and other celestial bodies, which had been recorded on radio telescopes. Mary shared blueberries picked from her garden in Clay City, IN. Glenn brewed a pot of coffee for us.
The next morning, while waiting for the replacement bike rack to be delivered by Amazon, we lounged on Brian and Ann’s cozy, shaded patio . Charlie and our hosts’ siberian husky, Willow, socialized on the cool, lush lawn. Within 20 minutes of delivery (around noon) Hank and Brian had the rack and bikes installed and we set off on the 5-1/2 hour drive to Nashville – back on schedule for a three-night stay to enjoy some live music and great food.
