Relatively Speaking

A short 135-mile drive up the road from Prattville led us to Anniston and the home of my sister, Jo Ann. As we drove into Anniston we approached what appeared to be a junk yard filled with old Volkswagens. On closer inspection we came to realize that it was a gold mine of old VWs; the vehicles had appreciated more than I would have guessed.

 Price = $3,000                                          Price = $2,500

Price = $4,500

Perhaps the Herring family should have held onto their collection of Volkswagens from the early 1970’s.

April 1971: Patsy, Rose & John, Jim, Joe and Teresa

Patsy won the Best Dressed award with her patriotic slacks, Joe comes in a close 2nd with his suit & tie.

We arrived at Jo Ann’s home on Tuesday afternoon in time for a short visit before we headed over to see three of her grandkids. We walked two doors down the street to Kim & Ron Johnson’s home. Tuesday evening was Grandma’s once/month scheduled time to babysit the kids, and it coincided with their evening swim lessons. The three boys looked like perpetual motion machines, at least until we had everyone loaded into an SUV. As we drove off to the swimming pool, Calub and Carter quickly fell asleep while Caden entertained himself with iPhone video games. Calub only awoke later on after Jo Ann helped him change into swimming trunks.

Jo Ann & Sissy 

Carter (in back), Caden & Calub

The next morning we visited Sacred Heart grade school. Julie & I had both attended a Sacred Heart grade school located in Waterloo, Iowa. It was quite a coincidence to see that both schools not only shared the same name, but also shared the same school mascot - Cardinals. You may recall from an earlier blog that I received a “Flat Stanley” from another of Jo Ann’s grandsons, Jackson Dodson. Flat Stanley has been traveling with me for the past several months; the deadline for returning him to Jackson was April 15. We took Flat Stanley back to Mrs. Cook’s 2nd grade class where Jackson and his cousin, Caden, are classmates. Jackson’s mother, Natalie, works in the school’s administrative office and was able to join us on the classroom visit. The 2nd grade class peppered Julie & I with questions: what does Flat Stanley eat (hamburgers & french fries), does he brush his teeth (of course!), and what activity did he like the most (flying over a volcano in a helicopter). Both the class room and cafeteria contained maps used to track Flat Stanley’s adventures. Mrs. Cook gave us an extension on the deadline; Flat Stanley remains our travel companion for a short while longer.

Flat Stanley's adventures 

 Caden, Jackson & Flat Stanley

Mrs. Cook's 2nd grade class

After wrapping up our visit at Sacred Heart we hit the road again, destination - Atlanta, Georgia. Julie visited some quilt shops in northern Atlanta before arriving at John & Lisa’s house. The dinner conversation with two teenagers at the table proved to be quite interesting. Austin surprised us with a demonstration of his skill on the electric guitar after dinner. We were entertained with a video of Sydney’s lead role in the high school’s performance of “Oklahoma”. John returned home at 10PM from a New Jersey business trip. We stayed up late talking. With John & I planning to leave for the golf course at 6:30 AM, it was a short visit and an even shorter night.

Sydney, Lisa (in front) & Austin