June 26, 1992
The drive to Indiana went much better than in 1990 and 1991. With the new car I drove the first 1000+ miles straight through the night without tiring and it rained non-stop from Spokane, Washington to 100 miles east of Rapid City, South Dakota. We had to stop because the rain was so heavy our speed was down to 30 miles an hour. We found a motel and then went to Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner. I told the lady behind the counter that someone needed to mop up all the water in the parking lot. She didn't get it.
Most of our visit involved running around and getting fitted for the wedding clothes. However, there was one break...my favorite uncle Lawrence asked if Miimii and I would like to take a small airplane around Evansville. He'd offered in 1991, and we had to cancel out at the last moment. This time I said yes. Then trouble came--he day of the flight, Brenda asked us to help set up the caffeteria for the wedding reception.
Miimii said yes, I said no, and an argument ensued. Fur was flying!
Tom, my best friend, was standing in our driveway watching this happy couple get ugly right in front of his eyes. I told Miimii,"We promised Lawrence we'd fly today...I'm not going to stiff him again like last year." Miimii didn't want to upset Brenda but my point was...we agreed to be in the wedding...we didn't agree to anything else. However...we'd promised Lawrence we'd fly with him. It ended when Miimii said,"When we get home, I want a divorce". I looked at Tom and said,"See what you have to look forward to when you get married?" Then I asked Brenda if we could show up late. She said,"Sure". So we got our flight...
Lawrence had taken pilot training in the 1950's and had done some solo flights, but never got his pilot's license. He knew many pilots and flew often. So it was easy for him...we buzzed all around Evansville. I'll never forget it.
And here's Mater Dei Catholic high school where I spent four years of my life growing up.
June 26, 1992
I just happened to take a picture of St. Boniface Catholic church (below). This is an area I used to frequent on my bicycle as a teenager. On the top of the photo, there are two bridges off to the right. The top one is where I had a bad crash in 1985, and went head-first into the concrete. I've worn a helmet ever since (only when riding a bicycle).
By coincidence, three years later in 1995, when my older brother Darrel was married at St. Boniface, and my mother asked me to be the photographer. She liked the way I took pictures (it was one of the best compliments she ever gave me).
So I took a ton of pictures and sent them all home after I'd returned from the wedding, but I slipped in this one shot of the church from three years earlier to confuse her. When I talked to her later she asked,"Did you take that picture from another building?"
Then we flew into Kentucky and back...
Every summer Evansville would host the "Thunder on the Ohio" regatta drawing over 100,000 spectators to the riverfront. It included the fastest speed boats in the world, what they call Unlimited Hydroplanes. The celebration came in June that year and we got a chance to see the boats practicing for the big June 28 race.
And here's my hometown all at once...don't blink
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