I remember this Father's Day very well. Not because it was the first with Aunt Helen and Uncle John back in Nebraska. Not because Grandpa got a weed eater. But because Tom and Merilyn left me and my husband stranded on the wrong side of a flooded highway.
I think I remember it as clearly as I do because I was pregnant with Mitch at the time and therefore was not completely in control of every single emotion at every single minute. Rick and I headed south after what I am sure was a lovely day of dining and visiting. I remember I was wearing a neon lime green t-shirt (hey, it was 1990). We got just so close to the Platte River and saw that it was covered for quite a ways with water. It certainly looked to us like it was too deep to try to go through, and others must have thought the same because no one was taking that option. So, what to do? There were plenty of country roads around, but we had no idea which ones would take us home and which would simply lead us to another flooded road. If we followed someone, who knows where we would end up? I must admit I was beginning to panic. The river goes all away across the state, for Pete's sake!! What relief we felt when we saw Tom and Merilyn approaching. What a shock when they waved and went on by, picked a country road, turned, and were not seen again. (We didn't all have cell phones at this time, so it wasn't an option to call and ask them to come back.) They left a pregnant woman and her likeable-but-not-so-resourceful husband stunned and seemingly stranded.
Well, we finally came to the conclusion that we could ask at the house near where we had pulled over. Turned out a young man that lived there was headed to Lincoln anyway and being from the area, knew how to get around the flooding and over the river. He was kind enough to let us follow him. We got home no worse for wear.
That all being said, I don't remember how Nancy and Dane got home. Maybe they left before us and figured it all out on their own or maybe they stayed an extra day, but I know we did not hang around and wait to help them. So . . . . until I find the answer to that question, I can't pick on Tom and Merilyn too much.
I couldn't find an appropriate photo, so I picked this one because it has water in it. I love Dale's bangs and his sweet expression. That's my diapered butt behind him on the couch.
To the best of my recollection, Dane and I stopped while you were there and we made a small convoy of three cars to get across the river. The reason this sticks in my memory is that when we stopped, the first words out of your mouth was the fact that Tom and Merilyn didn't even stop, just waved and went on by. I believe it was a young man and his girl friend who were on their way back to the University. The young girl was concerned if Dane needed something to drink or anything. I don't recall that he was making any kind of fuss but she wanted to be sure he was OK.
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