The conversation back in the summer of 1994 went something like this:
BWJones: Dad, we never really talk anymore….
Father: Well, what do you want to talk about?
BWJones: I don’t know dad, I’m just saying we don’t talk.
Father: Well, if you don’t know what you want to talk about, then why are you complaining?
This of course was so uncomfortably close to a dialogue I saw a few years later between two other Dr. Joneses in a movie that I did not know whether to laugh or cry. Subsequent conversations appear to be possible when dad is shooting, so when I suggest we talk, he typically says “Go get the guns”. *sigh*…….
So, wanting to spend some time with my dad, I got out my rifle for the first time in a long while and drove down South to spend some time with him and also to see my family. Of course dad and I went out shooting and sighted in his new .50cal rifle which was interesting as I had not spent much time with one since back in 1990 down at 29 Palms. We ended up spending the day out in the desert and had a pretty good time actually talking about normal stuff. No political arguments or scientific arguments or personal arguments….just normal, everyday conversation.
Later that day after getting cleaned up, we drove out to a small community to get dinner and I was surprised to have the proprietor of the cafe/gas station run out saying “That’s the truck, that’s the truck” and pointing to a pickup that had just accelerated hard out of the parking lot and down the highway. I was in the drivers seat and said “what truck?”, to which she responded “they just stole a bunch of gas and did not pay, get the license plate number!”. My parents are friends with the proprietors and said “Go! Go! Go!” while I thought “Oh, for the love of….” while accelerating out of the parking lot in their new Suburban with the 6L engine. It accelerated remarkably fast and I likely sucked up a gallon or so of gas just getting up to speed, but I caught up with the gas thieves enough to get the license plate number and call it into the police with the onboard Onstar system. The police told me that they had already received a couple of calls about this (small towns are like this I guess) and asked me to continue following them until they could vector in a highway patrolman. I thought “damn…. and agreed to continue following them, but advised the dispatcher that in order to continue following them I would have to be traveling at about 90MPH.” They advised me to continue….. but thankfully a couple of miles later, we slowed down to about 70 MPH which improved my instantaneous gas milage from 9MPG to something slightly less embarrassing like 13MPG! Huzzah! We continued on down the road for a couple of miles more until we crested the top of a hill and saw our highway patrol car. Flashing my lights and pulling out of the way let the cruiser know who we were and she accelerated behind the thieves to pull them over. They pulled over fairly quickly and I waved to the officer, turned around and headed back to pick up dinner.
That excitement over, I spent the next couple of days with my grandmothers who are looking good. I spent some time talking with each of them going over old stories, eating lunch, looking at old post cards and such. I also got to spend some time with mom who is going to be feeling pretty rough after my sister and nephew move to Seattle.
Monday I drove back into town to move the lab and my office into our new building which is finally ready for occupation. Mom, I’ll post more pictures of the lab and my office for you later, but right now everything is in boxes stacked to the ceiling. I also got to spend a little more time with my sister and her son when they drove through SLC on the way to Seattle. We all met at my favorite sushi restaurant, Kyoto. I got to show off my nephew to my friends behind the counter and a bunch of close friends sitting at the sushi bar before sitting down for a tasty lunch.
Oh yeah, the spider? He came crawling over to me lying in the sand and asked me to take his picture with my macro lens, so I had to oblige.