Apr. 12, 2007 - 22:48 MDT

OVERLOAD

Heather's brother Don, whose 81st birthday is in a few days, has been losing classmates at a very great rate, too many too often. One of his school chums from grade school on died the other day.

Heather located her brother by phone at his home in Utah, gave him the date and time of services (1PM tomorrow) and the possible consequences of weather as predicted here.

I got up this morning and as I prepared to go out and get the newspaper, there he stood on our front porch.

He made it cross country last year when one of his friends passed away to his services, but that was during warm weather.

Although it has been a somewhat happy day, family to family and all, circumstances lent a sober air to things, yet pleasant memories were revived and reviewed between us.

Don was a senior in high school when Heather and I met, and it seems that we bonded immediately. I began to meet his friends, Heather, Don and I would picnic in the hills with some of his friends and things like that. So there are memories in common that we revisited.

There will be food and visiting after the services tomorrow, which we shall attend, where many memories shall be shared, as well.

I'm not sure how long Don will be staying with us, I hope it will be an extended stay, but much like his sister Heather he is and has been a "free spirit," comes and goes at his will, his wife died several years ago thus making him tetherless.

He was on his property in Utah when Heather reached him and he told us when he got here that the weather was quite cold and snowy along side his trail and is fearcasted to be worse for a few days, so perhaps we can talk him into staying for a time.

Heather hopes to lure him into going to IMAX and perhaps to the Lone Star restaurant, and then visiting remaining family including our kids, so we may have him for several days.

Room to sleep one is easily come by here and he is very welcome to visit as long as he desires.

We decided to go to Micky Manor for lunch today, a bar and grille established in 1932. A place where "Rocky Bilt" hamburgers has been served for ages.

Rocky Bilt was a chain of fast food places back before they were called "fast food places." Their hamburgers were an experience, once had, never forgotten and obtained as often as possible.

The hamburgers were small, the buns fresh and tender, with Rocky Bilt special sauce, a slice of dill pickle and thin slice of onion. And they were cheap, I remember clinking the coins in my pocket coming across the street from the Ogden Theater after a movie. Counting out, holding carfare back, figuring how many burgers I could buy. Going in, closing the deal and going to the street car stop with a brown bag of hamburgers. Often eating one or two while I waited for the streetcar and eating the rest on the way home. To make a long story, and its wanderings a bit shorter, the doors to Micky Manor were locked, lights out, etc. I wandered next door and on talking to the woman in there, Micky Manor is no more. The last place in town that made Rocky Bilt burgers, closed and the Rocky Bilt burger recipe for them and the special sauce gone forever now.

The memories of the burgers and their legendary chili being discussed between us ad infinitum as we headed out . Micky Manor is a couple of blocks south on Federal Boulevard from where a Rocky Bilt was just north of 29th Avenue until that triangle across from North High School was turned into a park.

Memories come crowding in, each demanding a space to talk, some sad some glad but all aclamoring for floor space.

So just before I go to rest and recuperate, my memory goes once more to a warm, peaceful dusk where my soul once soaked in contentment.

We exist, we survive, we grieve and exult, but there are times when life goes into total OVERLOAD . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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