News from the Bitterroot...

Dad came to pick me up after my last semester at BYU-Idaho in June 2004.

He drove into the parking lot at Harris Hall with his flip-up sunglasses. We packed my stuff into the car and we drove around to some of the sites that he remembered from his days there.

We drove up Viking Drive to Rigby Hall, the men’s dorm where he was a Resident Assistant after his mission.

We drove by the apartment/housing area where he had met Mom on a blind date. He watched it fondly as we drove by.

We left the town and were driving somewhere between Idaho Falls and Mountain Home. Out in the desolation, there was a solitary home on top of hill off the side of the highway. It had been silent in the car for maybe a half an hour when he pointed to the house and said:

“I would go crazy if I lived out here.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“Isolation.”

I don’t know why I remember that comment. I am sure we talked about many other things in the car, including my future, church doctrine, or politics. Maybe because it was ordinary yet unexpected. Dad has a knack for saying something ordinary but making it memorable and funny. I think the comment about the clever rainbow jello probably falls into that category.

Ryan