Journey Back to the Future

Seventy four years ago this summer my young mom and dad packed up all their earthly possessions, young daughters and drove from Moundsville, W. VA to Phoenix, Arizona. It was wartime and everything was uncertain and unknown; a job, a house, and most importantly a doctor for each. They both were suffering from severe health problems that only a move to a dry climate like Arizona and major surgery would help.

In those days no one could afford long distance calls to keep in touch. And information about their destination was limited too. They were told it was never cold in Phoenix and so mom gave away all her wool blankets and handmade quilts. Dad gave away a brand new lawn mower because, of course, there were no lawns here, just sand and rocks. Where was Google when they needed it?

Fast forward to this last Thursday morning when my great-grandson Brandon started a journey from Phoenix back to 70 miles from Moundsville, medical school in Pennsylvania. He was driving a rental truck filled with all their  possessions, and pulling his wife, Teg’s truck. His grandfather Ron drove with him in Brandon’s Matrix. They reached Georgia on Saturday evening, where Teg and their son Ian were waiting. Ron will fly home today and on Tuesday Brandon and Integrity will head north to their final destination.

This journey was different in so many ways. Ron’s daily cell phone communication kept Brandon’s mom informed.  Minde, in turn, forwarded reports of their trip every day and sometimes two or three times, to concerned family members.

When my folks came West their large close knit families back home waited anxiously for letters to hear how things were going. On the other hand, Brandon’s families and friends  had daily updates of their trip.

Even though my great-grandson knows that he will be persuing his life long dream in the medical field and they have a house waiting, there is one thing about this journey 74 years later, that remains the same. There will always be parents, grandparents and great-grandparents sending good thoughts and love and patiently waiting to hear the latest news about how things are going!