Rebel by blood...Part II

The roadtrip to Lincoln was initially planned to be a quiet affair. It would be me, my mother, and my grandmother traveling in my mother's car. Then the news came... another great uncle, who makes a living transporting Amish long distances, offered to take all of us in one of his vans.

Now, the Amish are a fascinating group who live very simply, but...living simply without a lot of the amenities that we take for granted (hot water heaters), result in some differences with hygiene habits. Whereas I shower daily, most Amish make do with a simple washcloth-and-basin-of-water washing (except for a weekly-before-church bath). Needless to say, a unique...odor... is associated with most of those individuals.

Back to our roadtrip, I was hesitant to agree but had to go along with the group when Uncle Ron pulled up in his van. Being the "youngun" and used to riding large vans to/from work, I immediately headed to the back seat. As I would discover on the trip home, it was the best choice I made. The van smelled like Amish and hog manure. My allergies were fierce due to the dust and my grandmother's smelly lotion that she repeatedly applied to her hands. The back seat was very bouncy and I quickly realized that reading would be impossible. I couldn't hear the conversation at the front of the van so I spent a lot of time watching the scenery and chatting with my mother and aunt. It was a long 5.5 hour trip.

Lincoln was beautiful...so green and the cityscape was "flat" (few high rises), making it seem smaller than it likely was. I'll have to visit again someday. We quickly found the funeral home and proceeded inside to greet distant relatives, meet other relatives and listen to a very nice service. Uncle Dean had already been cremated so we watched while a slide show showing images of his life played along with music. I admit that I ended up downloading one from iTunes -- "String of Pearls" by the Glenn Miller band. After the slide show and an emotional speech from a cousin, we headed outside for a military honor guard (?) thing. Thankfully the rain held off until the end, when we ambled inside for refreshments and conversation.

We could only stay for another hour before heading home but it was worth every minute. I had to laugh at the number of relatives who declare that I look just like my mother. Many were surprised to see me but it's difficult to not go when you're the oldest of the cousins and therefore somewhat familiar with the relatives there. My siblings had no idea who "Uncle Dean" was. Third cousins that I hadn't seen in years (teenagers) suffered through relatives, including my mother, who declared that "they hadn't seen them since they were little". I shared a smile of sufferance with them because I still get that remark as well!

For the ride home, we were able to rearrange ourselves in the van differently. Uncle Ron stayed in Lincoln with his wife, who had gone separately, so I was able to sit in a seat closer to the front. BAD MISTAKE. It hadn't occurred to me on the way to Lincoln that the vinyl back seat had some advantages. After an hour in a front cloth seat, I moved to the back seat willingly. I thought the back seat stank, but those cloth seats were much worse....phew! I opted to snooze most of the way back to my aunt's house since it was going to be late before I got home. That night I knew I wouldn't get home until 1:00 a.m. or later.

All in all, I was glad I went. The ride was long and smelly, but with good company and some great conversations with relatives in Lincoln. Along with some genealogy stories I picked up from a cousin, I was able to get a new adult perspective of those "grouchy" relatives from my childhood.

Still to come...genealogy stories...