To Nebraska and Back

To Nebraska and Back

Part 1 - Sold Out

Leisurely packing my travel bag for a three day trip to Nebraska and back to the Metroplex, I'm not sure I had an accurate idea of what an emotional trip it would become. Oh yes, I expected some special feelings observing Jonathan, my youngest son, and the other members of the Eli Young Band perform at Harrah's Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa right across the Missouri River from his, and my, ancestral home in Omaha. What I hadn't anticipated were the emotions that would rise to the surface as a result of familiar landmarks and their associated memories.

The drive from home in Fort Worth to the first gas stop in Denton turned out to be the only time for nearly three days that the top on my Mustang would be down; from then on the precipitation would range from a slight foggy drizzle to literal cloud bursts. I followed my normal route North until just beyond Salina KS, where I turned East on I-40 as I made my way to Manhattan KS and my lodging for later that evening. En route I was able to determine with a cell phone exchange with Jonathan that the band had an unused room that I might use, so I called and cancelled the room I had previously arranged via the Internet. Locating the new motel and then the evening's venue were relatively easy; after all, Manhattan, a really nice home for Kansas State University, is, even in the rain, not that big.