Dear Joseph and Lucia,

I had another nice weekend.  I rode the train again Saturday morning down to Fort Worth.  Rick, the friend I told you about previously with the estranged daughter, rode over with Michèle. We ate lunch at Smoke, a barbeque place in Dallas.  I thought a lot about Grandmother Randel during that lunch.  I had cheese grits, brisket, and bread and butter pickles.  I haven’t tasted pickles like these since when she canned them from scratch in Missouri.  They also had a horseradish sauce that reminded me of Papa Gene.  He loved horseradish.  Overall it was a pleasant day.

Saturday night, I fired up the Weber grill and cooked burgers and brats.

This weekend, it was Rachael’s turn to be sick.  She felt so bad. Melynda moved up to Norman over the weekend and didn’t feel any better, herself.  I was able to stop on the train trip back up to Oklahoma City and help her out a bit.

Sunday morning, I worked on the pool a bit more (as always) and Zena came over for some technical help.  We chatted for a while and it was nice. Afterward, we sat back… watched a movie… swam in the pool and relaxed.  The train trip back was bumpier than usual due to some track improvements, but still a lot better than driving.

So, I’m back in Oklahoma City for another week.  I think about you guys every day and look forward to the days coming when we can be back in touch.

Love,
Dad