Tag Archives: traveling

On the way to the airport this morning, I was talking to the cab driver, who was once a surgical nurse. She got burned out on her job and wanted to see more of the world. She said she encouraged her kids to also explore beyond the small town they were raised in.

Dad certainly had a wanderlust gene, as does Mom. Dad traveled from Northern Ireland to England to the U.S. While in America, he lived in several colorful cities: New York City, New Orleans and Los Angeles. His travels certainly influenced his life, and location played a big part in most of his best stories about his life.

I’ve had a lot of time this summer to listen to mom relate stories from her past, her travels, her stint in the Navy. I’m trying to keep better record of her stories than I did for Dad. With Dad, the mental decline seemed slow, until it wasn’t, and he was no longer able to recall the highlights of his life.

After all, if Dad had decided to never leave Belfast, he almost certainly would never have met Mom, and I would not be here either.