A melancholy trip

I mentioned at the end of last week's column that I was going to attend my youngest son's father-in-law's funeral in Seward and that's what I did. I drove to Lincoln on Friday and checked in at Embassy Suites, one of my favorite hotels.

I had forgotten it was also the weekend of the state high school girl's basketball games, even though I knew that McCook had played and lost on Thursday night. I've been there before when state championship games were being played in both basketball and football and this time was no different. I was fortunate to even get a room because the hotel was packed with families and supporters of various teams and it's a madhouse for about 18 hours of the day.

Kids were everywhere; riding the elevators up and down, running down the halls playing tag, throwing water balloons, and everything else they could think to do while the Manager's happy hour was packed the whole two hours it was going on. I suspect many of the people at happy hour were worn out parents trying to escape their kids for awhile. The line to get free drinks wove more than halfway back through the atrium and the wait was 15 to 20 minutes. Every table in every nook and corner was occupied so I got two drinks and took them back up to my room. I called my son Will to ask him over for dinner at Misty's and he said he would have to let me know later because funeral home visitation was from six to eight that evening and he didn't know what else the family had planned.

I told him to let me know as soon as he knew and then I sipped on my two drinks and watched a Showtime movie on the big screen in my room. I hadn't heard back from Will by the time I finished my two drinks so I went back downstairs to the Atrium, which was still jam- packed, and waited in line for another 15-20 minutes for two more drinks. Finally securing them, I retired to my room once more to wait for Will to contact me.

I knew that Misty's closed around nine or so and when I still hadn't heard from him by then, I knew that dinner there was out. He finally contacted me at 9:30 to tell me to go ahead and eat and that he would be over around 10:30. It's around a 30- minute drive from Seward to Lincoln. I knew I had time to order room service so I ordered a filet, a loaded baked potato, vegetables and a salad and it was delivered quickly 20 minutes later.

Most places that cook good steaks cook them one level lower than what you ask for and since I always like mine medium, I've learned to order medium well. But this steak was much closer to medium rare than medium well but I ate it anyway because of its price. I've been told many times not to eat hotel food and usually don't but this evening I had no choice.

The steak was $24 plus there's also a $3 room delivery fee and an automatic 18 percent tip so the cost of food in my room at 10 p.m. at night was a few cents short of $33, plus a $5 tip for the server. Even though the baked potato was loaded with butter, sour cream and chives, the potato itself was dry but I managed to eat it too. I didn't touch the salad. Just as I was finishing, Will contacted me to tell me he was parking the car so I met him in the lobby.

We spent the next couple of hours sitting at the bar, sipping on our cocktails and talking about things. Will's a very sharp guy with a keen sense of humor and it's always a joy for me to spend some private time with him, no matter how short that might be. When we were finished, he drove back to Seward and I went to bed.

When I woke up in the morning, I went downstairs for the complimentary breakfast and it too was substandard from what I was accustomed to. The bacon didn't look or taste like bacon, the gravy I put on my biscuit had a strange taste to it and the omelet I ate was as dry as the baked potato I had eaten the night before. I usually go back for seconds but didn't even finish the food I had gotten on my first trip. I went back to my room, showered and shaved, took an hour nap and then dressed and went down to check out. The employees of Embassy Suites are always pleasant and accommodating and they were this time as well. I had my car valet parked so I took the claim slip out of my billfold and gave it to the guy outside at the car stand. Then I patiently waited and watched as car after car was retrieved from the parking garage but my car wasn't. Finally, another parking attendant asked me about my vehicle and he went off looking for it too. Finally, after 15 minutes and my growing fear that my car had been stolen, I finally saw one of the guys drive it around the corner and into the parking circle. It's customary to tip these guys because they don't earn much working by the hour and I did, even though the service on this trip was far below average.

I drove to Seward and got there about an hour early so I was one of the first ones in the church. The family had opted for an open casket and it was placed at the entry way of the auditorium, just past the lobby. I signed my name in the guest book, was handed a memorial bulletin for Les and then led to my seat, right past the open casket.

I don't like looking at dead people because I know it's only the shell of the person I knew. All of their blood has been drained and replaced by embalming fluid that gives them a waxed, unnatural look. The person I knew had left his body on Tuesday night and I was only looking at the vehicle his personhood had been stored in for his brief time on earth. Les was 10 years younger than me and I always think of my own mortality when I see people die who are younger than I am.

The funeral was held at the Lutheran church and the pastor who officiated the funeral had a long pony tail which reminded me of an old hippie. His message was upbeat and relatively brief, the music was current with even a pop song thrown in so the funeral itself was tolerable. I don't like to go to funerals or weddings because they're too much alike. Will acknowledged me as the family left the church but I didn't get to talk to him because they were going directly to the gravesite.

So I got in my car and left, trying to find Interstate 80, since I had never been in Seward before. After a couple of false starts and a wasted 15 or 20 minutes, I finally found it and proceeded on home. The last 30 minutes of the drive was spent looking directly into a setting sun that was sinking lower and lower on the horizon until I was practically blinded by the light. The sun finally disappeared below the horizon just as I was driving into the McCook city limits and I had spots in my eyes for several minutes after.

So, like almost every trip or journey I take, there were good things and bad things that happened to me but after attending the memorial service of a person who wasn't here anymore, the bad things didn't seem nearly as bad as they sometimes do because at least I was here to experience them.