EDITORIAL: Ted Escobar's on a vacation trip - sort of
The Royal Register News
I'm going on a vacation trip to Texas on Thursday - sort of. Because of modern technology, I'll be able to do the paper while I'm on the road and in Denton.
It's hard to believe now that I argued with my kids when they told me back in the '90s that I needed a computer and a cell phone.
Now I'm as cool as I can manage. I'll hang my phone speaker from the driver side visor when my wife Pat drives and do business.
However, I'm not totally cool. I haven't sprung for a laptop or iPad or whatever. I'll have to do my writing on my daughter's computer in Denton.
I'm excited about this trip. I've been to Texas several times, but I haven't seen Dallas since 1973. I was handed an excuse to go again when my daughter Berney, her husband Andrew and their three kids moved from Walla Walla to Denton at the end of September.
Berney had lived in our home or within driving distance all of her life. This was a big change for Pat and me and her.
"Please come to Denton for Thanksgiving," she asked through moist eyes as she prepared to leave.
How could we turn her down? Thanksgiving is about family, and Berney wouldn't have any if we didn't go.
Our other three children excused us from the family gathering in Spokane and have encouraged us to go. Berney has already scouted the area extensively and has a list of activities waiting for us.
"Dad," she exclaimed recently, "they have the biggest ranches just outside of Denton, and the houses are beautiful. You have to see them."
Wouldn't you know it? It's been barely more than a month, and already Berney is a typical Texan. Any day now I expect her to say everything is big in Texas.
Another reason I'm excited about the trip is that I recently learned my cousin Pete's family lives in Dallas. A Vietnam vet, Pete was troubled as a young man. He died way too young in 1976.
Pete and I had lived near each other and played together as kids. Even though his family moved to Oregon when I was 12, I was saddened immensely by his passing.
I never knew Pete's kids, but I often wondered about them. Until recently, I thought they were living in Oregon or elsewhere on the West Coast.
A third cousin from Salem, who regularly attends our biennial family reunion, recently wrote that Pete's family wants to attend the one scheduled for our home next June. She informed us his widow and children live in Dallas.
I plan to meet Pete's kids, probably in their 40s now, and invite them personally. More than ever, this Thanksgiving week will be a family celebration.
And thanks to modern technology, my next column will come from deep in the heart of Texas.
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