Notes from a trip

Drove to La Grande for Gerry McNamee's memorial Sunday afternoon.

• We've reached the age where travel comfort declines after about 3 hours. So this nearly 5 hr. trip was really too far for one drive, even with breaks.
• I hope "gorgeous" comes from the Columbia River Gorge. It has to be among the most beautiful scenic drives in the country. I've taken it oh so many times, usually on my way to northern Idaho, but it's always a knockout and I always have to yell, after Guthrie, "It's a big river!"
• The memorial had just the right tone, more literary than religious and not without humor. I told an anecdote. I saw his two sons for the first time in years.
• La Grande has an Americana feel to it, large enough to have a university, small enough to have few gathering spots, making it likely everyone knows everyone, an active train route through town, providing a frequent melancholy soundtrack, gorgeous (here we go again) scenery in every direction. Still, the high school banned an innocent play recently, so it has backwater habits, too.
• We skipped the wake except for an appearance. Too beat and didn't want to compromise the perfect tone of the memorial.
• Glad to be home! This is a week to get organized for the summer that finally begins.