It's Not Like He Was Lost

The trip from Phoenix to Madison was uneventful.   Note to self, consider which direction the plane is going and which direction the sun will be shining onto the airplane when choosing the seat assignments.  

That evening Mom and Dad took me out for “fine dining” which turned out to be a bar on Fox Lake that serves burgers, chicken sandwiches, fries, or cup of soup all at $1 each.  Food was surprisingly good.

Thursday Mom and I had lunch with an old family friend, Shirley.  We talked so much we didn't realize we had been there for two hours.  I think it had to be pushing four or five years since the last time I had seen her.

Friday it was off to younger brother Steve’s for a grill-out.  I got to see all the nieces, nephews, and pooches with the exception of Holly.  It was good food and good conversation.

Saturday was grilling out at Uncle Ralph and Aunt Eunice’s cottage along the Wisc River near the Dells.  Again, it was good food and good conversation.

Sunday was leaving day.  My flight didn’t leave until 3:30, but I wasn’t able to print out a boarding pass in advance and since the flight coming over was overbooked I was thinking arriving the earlier the better, figuring 1:30-1:45 would be a good time.

We went to breakfast and then stopped at East Towne Mall to bra shop for Mom at JC Penny’s.  We arrived 10:45-11am-ish.  Dad said he would go sit out in the mall in front of Penny’s and do some people watching.   Somewhere along the line he changed his mind and ended up at Sears in the Big-Boy Toy department.

After trying on 47 different bras…okay, maybe it was 7 or 8, we were done shopping within a half an hour and went to find Dad who we discovered wasn’t at the designated spot.  No problem, he may have moved up to the middle area where there was more people to watch.  Nope.  Maybe he went over by Dick’s Sporting Goods and was sitting there.  Nope.  Maybe he went back to the truck.  Nope.

I had Mom sit in front of Penny’s in case he wandered back and I took a quick walk around the mall.  Maybe he was by the food court.  Nope.  I finished the complete circle around the mall and came back to Mom.  We decided I should find the mall security and see if they have a paging system.  Nope.  Security guy did say he would alert the other two on duty, thus the posse was sent out.

I finished the second walk around the mall returning to Mom who was talking to the same security guy and I did another check of the truck.

I did a third walk around the mall even meeting/passing the security guy just outside of Sears.  It’s now getting close to 1 o'clock.  Where on earth did he go?  He doesn't have a habit of just wondering away.

Mom said I should check upstairs at Penny’s.  No sooner than I got upstairs she calls my phone and says she could see Dad headed towards her with the security guy.

The security guy caught up to him outside of Sears and asked him if he was looking for his wife and daughter.  Dad replies, “Nope.  But, they’re probably looking for me.”  

So it's not like he was lost.

We got to the airport shortly before 1:30.  Nothing like keeping life interesting.