Last Weekend's Adventures
I can't say that I live a dull life.
You, dear readers, were utterly unaware of the insane weekend I just had because I snuck away ever so quietly and programmed some entries to post themselves automatically while I was gone. But now that I'm back let me tell you a little of what's been happening.
I returned home from California Sunday February 28th. I wanted nothing more than to enjoy my own home for a few weeks before taking off on any other adventures. That wasn't meant to be because Monday night we received news that Roy's paternal grandpa had passed away that very evening.
My husband Roy is named after his father, Roy, who was named after his father. That makes my husband Roy III and his dad Roy Jr (although I usually differentiate them as Little Roy and Big Roy, respectfully). The grandpa who just passed was the original Roy. He lived in Lititz, Pa and, sadly, my husband hadn't been able to visit for many years.
The services were scheduled to be held in Lititz that following weekend (Sunday, March 7th). In the next 24 hours after getting the news, we had plane tickets to PA. That week was a whirlwind of doing laundry from the previous trip and packing for the next. Plus, we had to make arrangements for our dog, cats, chickens and guineas to be cared for by our neighbor. It sounds like such a little bit to do, but it seemed to take every waking hour and a few of my sleeping hours, too, to get us ready for that trip.
Friday evening, we threw all our luggage in the car at 5pm and started driving toward the Denver airport (a 3-hour drive). Roy had noticed before we left that one of his tires was a little low. The Walmart where he purchased the tires was located along our drive, so he decided to stop and have them check it. After all, we didn't want to return after a long weekend to find our car with a flat tire in the airport parking lot.
It turned out he made the right decision. We pulled into the Tire & Lube at Walmart and were told it would take 15 minutes. Thirty minutes later, Roy and I stood at the garage's observation window and watched as the fellow working on the tire called over one of his coworkers and then another and another until the whole staff was inspecting our tire! They reported to us that they had found two nails and two other holes and if they had found one more they would have replaced the tire! We spent about an hour total at Walmart, but it was well worth the piece of mind!
We arrived at the airport around 9pm. We had never seen the airport so empty! We were the only people in line at the ticketing counter. At security, we giggled as we zig-zagged through the rope maze that they use to keep the crowd in line, but their was no crowd at all. And at the end of the maze was one lady comparing IDs to tickets sitting in the long line of otherwise empty podiums - she worked in quiet focus and didn't even make eye contact with us, as if we were just the few of the multitudes she needed to serve. A few minutes later we were at our gate and waiting for our plane to board at approximately 12:30 am.
We were about three hours too early for our flight, but we thought it would be much easier on us to drive to the airport when we were awake and alert. We thought that once at our gate, we could just nap in the waiting area. Well, Melise had other plans! She wanted to explore the concourse. She discovered the escalators, which I made the mistake of letting her ride once and then she insisted on riding them over and over. While I was yawning and dragging my feet, she was running and giggling! She even made a friend with another toddler, Maya, and together they traveled a few miles on the moving walkways from one end of the concourse to the other and back while Maya's dad and I followed close behind. Maya finally ran out of energy, but Melise was still burning hot. It took several more escalator rides (and an equal number of tantrums when I tried to distract her from them) before she FINALLY collapsed into an exhausted slumber at midnight.
We had two flights with a 4-hour layover in Charlotte. Altogether, the trip took 8.5 hours. Melise slept pretty much the whole way, but Roy and I maybe got a couple hours sleep each. Are you wondering yet how we ended up with such a crazy flight schedule? Well that's what happens when you buy the cheapest tickets on Travelocity four days before you travel! Oh well, it ended with a happy arrival in beautiful Lititz, PA and a warm meeting with the family.
On Sunday, the services were verynice, but I think the chance to be with family was even more important,especially to Great-grandma who had just lost her lifelong love.
Our little branch of the Pfaltzgraff family.
Our trip home was uneventful. This blog entry is going to end very anti-climatically, I'm afraid, but I'd like to share a little bit about the man whose life and death were the reason for this whole adventure. I think I told Roy many times onthe trip that he has a nice family, a smart family, a talented family,and a funny family. Although I barely knew his grandpa, I got the impressionthat this man had all these characteristics as well. This is his obituary:
Roy E. Pfaltzgraff, M.D., 92, of Brethren Village, Lancaster, PA, passed away on
March 1, 2010, at his residence. Born in York, PA, he was the son of the late G. Nevin
and Mary Martha Roth Pfaltzgraff. He was married to Violet Hackman Pfaltzgraff for 68
years on April 10th. Surviving in addition to his wife are 4 sons, Roy (Kathy) Pfaltzgraff,
Jr., Haxtun, CO, George (Buffy) Pfaltzgraff, Hampton, IA, David (Ruth) Pfaltzgraff,
Keymar, MD, Nevin (Judy) Pfaltzgraff, Coulee Dam, WA; a daughter, Kathryn
Pfaltzgraff, Abbottstown, PA; 16 grandchildren; and 18 great grandchildren. He was
preceded in death by 3 sisters, Cleo Nelson, Nola Pfaltzgraff, and Janet Booze.
Dr. Pfaltzgraff was a graduate of North York High School, Elizabethtown College, and
Temple Medical School. He served his internship at Lancaster General Hospital.
He served with the Church of the Brethren Mission from 1944-82 in Nigeria, Africa,
specializing in leprosy since 1954. After retiring, he worked for American Leprosy
Missions until 1991. Dr. Pfaltzgraff wrote many articles in various publications, coauthored
a book on leprosy, and participated in international seminars on the
identification and treatment of leprosy. He was part of the team which identified the cure
for leprosy. He received the 1997 Damien-Dutton Award in recognition for significant
contribution towards the conquest of leprosy. He was a member of the Middle Creek
Church of the Brethren, Lititz, PA, where he was Minister Emeritus. He was also a
member of the American Medical Association, the International Leprosy Association,
and the Brethren Peace Fellowship. He enjoyed woodworking and gardening.
You, dear readers, were utterly unaware of the insane weekend I just had because I snuck away ever so quietly and programmed some entries to post themselves automatically while I was gone. But now that I'm back let me tell you a little of what's been happening.
I returned home from California Sunday February 28th. I wanted nothing more than to enjoy my own home for a few weeks before taking off on any other adventures. That wasn't meant to be because Monday night we received news that Roy's paternal grandpa had passed away that very evening.
My husband Roy is named after his father, Roy, who was named after his father. That makes my husband Roy III and his dad Roy Jr (although I usually differentiate them as Little Roy and Big Roy, respectfully). The grandpa who just passed was the original Roy. He lived in Lititz, Pa and, sadly, my husband hadn't been able to visit for many years.
The services were scheduled to be held in Lititz that following weekend (Sunday, March 7th). In the next 24 hours after getting the news, we had plane tickets to PA. That week was a whirlwind of doing laundry from the previous trip and packing for the next. Plus, we had to make arrangements for our dog, cats, chickens and guineas to be cared for by our neighbor. It sounds like such a little bit to do, but it seemed to take every waking hour and a few of my sleeping hours, too, to get us ready for that trip.
Friday evening, we threw all our luggage in the car at 5pm and started driving toward the Denver airport (a 3-hour drive). Roy had noticed before we left that one of his tires was a little low. The Walmart where he purchased the tires was located along our drive, so he decided to stop and have them check it. After all, we didn't want to return after a long weekend to find our car with a flat tire in the airport parking lot.
It turned out he made the right decision. We pulled into the Tire & Lube at Walmart and were told it would take 15 minutes. Thirty minutes later, Roy and I stood at the garage's observation window and watched as the fellow working on the tire called over one of his coworkers and then another and another until the whole staff was inspecting our tire! They reported to us that they had found two nails and two other holes and if they had found one more they would have replaced the tire! We spent about an hour total at Walmart, but it was well worth the piece of mind!
We arrived at the airport around 9pm. We had never seen the airport so empty! We were the only people in line at the ticketing counter. At security, we giggled as we zig-zagged through the rope maze that they use to keep the crowd in line, but their was no crowd at all. And at the end of the maze was one lady comparing IDs to tickets sitting in the long line of otherwise empty podiums - she worked in quiet focus and didn't even make eye contact with us, as if we were just the few of the multitudes she needed to serve. A few minutes later we were at our gate and waiting for our plane to board at approximately 12:30 am.
We were about three hours too early for our flight, but we thought it would be much easier on us to drive to the airport when we were awake and alert. We thought that once at our gate, we could just nap in the waiting area. Well, Melise had other plans! She wanted to explore the concourse. She discovered the escalators, which I made the mistake of letting her ride once and then she insisted on riding them over and over. While I was yawning and dragging my feet, she was running and giggling! She even made a friend with another toddler, Maya, and together they traveled a few miles on the moving walkways from one end of the concourse to the other and back while Maya's dad and I followed close behind. Maya finally ran out of energy, but Melise was still burning hot. It took several more escalator rides (and an equal number of tantrums when I tried to distract her from them) before she FINALLY collapsed into an exhausted slumber at midnight.
We had two flights with a 4-hour layover in Charlotte. Altogether, the trip took 8.5 hours. Melise slept pretty much the whole way, but Roy and I maybe got a couple hours sleep each. Are you wondering yet how we ended up with such a crazy flight schedule? Well that's what happens when you buy the cheapest tickets on Travelocity four days before you travel! Oh well, it ended with a happy arrival in beautiful Lititz, PA and a warm meeting with the family.
| I haven't been to a lot of funeralsin my life. I kept forgetting we were even there for a funeral becauseit felt more like a family reunion. All four of Little Roy's sistersand their kids were there, his parents, all his dad's siblings, lots ofcousins and their kids too. I never counted, but I'm guessing that theblood relations present were about 40 people. Melise got to meet manyof her cousins for the first time, but most importantly she got to meether Great-grandma. I think they enjoyed each other's company very much. |  |
On Sunday, the services were verynice, but I think the chance to be with family was even more important,especially to Great-grandma who had just lost her lifelong love.
Our little branch of the Pfaltzgraff family.
Our trip home was uneventful. This blog entry is going to end very anti-climatically, I'm afraid, but I'd like to share a little bit about the man whose life and death were the reason for this whole adventure. I think I told Roy many times onthe trip that he has a nice family, a smart family, a talented family,and a funny family. Although I barely knew his grandpa, I got the impressionthat this man had all these characteristics as well. This is his obituary:
Roy E. Pfaltzgraff, M.D., 92, of Brethren Village, Lancaster, PA, passed away on
March 1, 2010, at his residence. Born in York, PA, he was the son of the late G. Nevin
and Mary Martha Roth Pfaltzgraff. He was married to Violet Hackman Pfaltzgraff for 68
years on April 10th. Surviving in addition to his wife are 4 sons, Roy (Kathy) Pfaltzgraff,
Jr., Haxtun, CO, George (Buffy) Pfaltzgraff, Hampton, IA, David (Ruth) Pfaltzgraff,
Keymar, MD, Nevin (Judy) Pfaltzgraff, Coulee Dam, WA; a daughter, Kathryn
Pfaltzgraff, Abbottstown, PA; 16 grandchildren; and 18 great grandchildren. He was
preceded in death by 3 sisters, Cleo Nelson, Nola Pfaltzgraff, and Janet Booze.
Dr. Pfaltzgraff was a graduate of North York High School, Elizabethtown College, and
Temple Medical School. He served his internship at Lancaster General Hospital.
He served with the Church of the Brethren Mission from 1944-82 in Nigeria, Africa,
specializing in leprosy since 1954. After retiring, he worked for American Leprosy
Missions until 1991. Dr. Pfaltzgraff wrote many articles in various publications, coauthored
a book on leprosy, and participated in international seminars on the
identification and treatment of leprosy. He was part of the team which identified the cure
for leprosy. He received the 1997 Damien-Dutton Award in recognition for significant
contribution towards the conquest of leprosy. He was a member of the Middle Creek
Church of the Brethren, Lititz, PA, where he was Minister Emeritus. He was also a
member of the American Medical Association, the International Leprosy Association,
and the Brethren Peace Fellowship. He enjoyed woodworking and gardening.
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