December 27, 2014. Coughing Through the Snow in a 255-Horse Unopen Sleigh.

 

December 27, 2014.  Coughing Through the Snow in a 255-Horse Unopen Sleigh.  Annie and Malachi have taken to the road again, upper-respiratory ailments notwithstanding.  We are a coughing duet, each irritating the other in increasingly loud and louder waves of hacking, rattling, and wheezing.  Annie has developed it to an art form, withholding the most irritating racking until her mouth is near my ear.  She, of course, accuses me of the same thing.  But, she is not correct and I am, of course. 

So, why didn't we postpone the trip until we felt better?  We are going to feel better soon.  And, when we do, we will be someplace warm, where we can enjoy feeling better.  So, there.

The temperature was 31 degrees when we left the house at 8:30 this morning.  The plan was to drive far enough south to avoid an overnight freeze.  We drove through snow for the first 200 miles, then rain for the next 200 miles.  We are stopped tonight in Little Rock, AR.  Tomorrow, we will drive 200 more miles to the Vicksburg National Battlefield Museum.  The Battle of Vicksburg was by far the most significant federal victory in the western theater of the Civil War.  It may have been the second most significant battle of the entire war.  Lincoln would say, "The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea." 

Most historians would say the Battle of Gettysburg was the most important battle of the war.  Interestingly, General Lee's army withdrew from the field at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.  General Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg on July 4, 1863.  It was a good week for the Union forces and President Lincoln. 

Annie and I stopped in Vicksburg on June 10, 1968.  How do I remember that, you ask?  We were married on June 8, spent June 9 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and spent June 10th touring battlefields in Vicksburg en route to New Orleans.  Pretty good, huh.  A guy doesn't forget much of what he did on his honeymoon.

Oh, we saw a Fred's Dollar Store along the way.  Fred's is a regional dollar store.  There used to be one in Trumann, AR, when I was a boy there.  I bought thousands of rubber bands for a dollar so I could to roll-and-wrap my newspapers.  That made it easier to toss them on the porch of customers from a fast-moving bike.  This store also reminded us of our good friend, Fred.  Fred is a faithful reader of this blog. 

The Farkleys are excited about their stop at the WWII Museum in New Orleans.  I have exchanged emails with the curator and he has agreed to accept Dad's WWII dress uniform.  I wondered what would happen to the uniform when I am gone.  Now, I know it will be preserved for generations into the future.  We will meet with the curator on Tuesday, December 30.  He wrote that he is interested in hearing Dad's story of the War.  I am eager to tell what little I know.  Dad, like so many WWII veterans, didn't talk about the War.  They came home, went to work and supported their families.  Living the horror of war was enough.  He, and they, had no need to discuss it.

More to follow.