July 2

Puck had given Collette his cold and his sore throat. Collette woke up with it Tuesday morning, and it continued rudely into Wednesday.
She brought over the Puck to the house to say goodbye to Dad and Frances before their departure. Mom had picked up Paul’s Donuts for a special breakfast. Joe also had the same cold. The A/C was out and Dad was wrapping up the first chapter of his thesis.
Puck took a long dip in the baby pool with his Aunt Linnea for the morning.
It was getting a little loud around the house. Dad was trying to get Frances prepared for their departure. One of Frances’ green Boy Scout socks had been accidentally bleached.
“Change your socks, Frances,” Dad commanded. “Wear hiking socks. Pull your shorts up to your waist.”
“But then I look like a dork!” Frances laughed.
“You’re supposed to wear them like that.”
“Where are the good tweezers?” Rose yelled from the bathroom.
“I ate them!” Frances bellowed back.
In the warmth of the afternoon, Dad and Frances packed everything into the big green van and headed off.
“Be safe,” they all warned them.
“Don’t overdo it, Dad.”
“I won’t,” Dad said, chuckling at the thought. “There are old guys out there twenty years older than I am, and they’re still hiking.”
“Don’t get too close to any ledges,” Carrie told Frances.
“I’ll try not to,” he assured her. “See you in two weeks!” he called back to them, running off to the van in his Scout uniform.
That evening, OLeif joined Theodore, Pastor Marshall, Simon, and another man from Christ Presbyterian for a Bible study and pizza at work. This was followed with a late-night movie at
The Great Escape with Alfonso.
Collette went to bed as the rain came in and the thunder blasted through from the west.