a trip through time

Another trip to Tallahassee over the weekend. This time I drove up in my wife's Prius to deliver an antique chest-of-drawers that was owned once by her grandmother, my wife's mother. It's been 11 years since my mother-in-law passed, but there are still strong memories, especially attached to personal items. Women seem to have a strong affinity for personal items owned by their mother and grandmothers (and even further back). I noticed that with my mom and my sister, and I've noticed it with my wife and both the girls.

I took the antique chest up, and then removed the chest-of-drawers that my daughter had had since she was in elementary school and had taken with her to college. She wanted to replace it, built as it was out of lesser materials, and use her grandmother's built out of cedar and mahogany. I got it into her small house, then we took the other dresser to a thrift store in Tallahassee.

I went by myself to Tallahassee. Unfortunately I didn't start Saturday until 11am (I had to clean up the Prius, and then wait for my wife to unload the chest I was taking up). I made up time by driving nearly non-stop. If I have my wife with me I have to stop a lot more often and for longer periods of time. It also helped that when I got to Tallahassee I got off at the first exit, highway 90. They've finally finished widening 90, and it was a fast trip down 90 towards Monroe and where my daughter now lives.

The late start, wresting with furniture, the long drive, and the 10:30pm showing of "Pacific Rim" we both saw took a bit out of me, so I stayed in Tallahassee for the night. The next morning I took her to breakfast at Village Inn on Apalachee, where I grabbed the shot above.

On the way back I stopped at the retirement community my mother-in-law spent the rest of her life in, and visited a friend of the family, Mrs. Selb who is now 98. She still remembers the girls, and sends them a birthday card every year. When the girls were little we would take them up for a weekend stay at their grandmothers. Then they would go over to visit Mrs. Selb. Everybody had a great time. The girls still fondly remember those times as well.

I stayed there about an hour, talking about everything you could think of. Mrs. Selb still has a bright clear mind and can keep up with any conversation. She was recovering from a fall in her house. She'd moved all the furniture out of her house (by herself) so that the carpet could be cleaned. While she was moving the furniture back in and re-arranging everything she fell on her back. She didn't go see a doctor until the next day. She was pretty bruised up. Although they didn't put her in the hospital they sent her to physical therapy.

Her secret to a long and fruitful life is activity and discipline. She walks every day, and three days a week she goes down to the community gym where she swims and works out. She's a varociaous reader and crossword puzzle fan. She has her support group she keeps track of. She's engaged with her community and with life in general. Something I believe the girls understand.

It's only two more years before Mrs. Selb is 100, and I expect to see her still going strong.

Technical

Top photo taken with Panasonic GX1 and 20mm. Bottom taken with Olympus E-M5 and Panasonic Leica 25mm.