Deja Vu All Over Again

A friend of mine sent me an article written by one Michael Gartner about his life and times. Gartner was a honcho with the Des Moines Register when it used to be a reputable newspaper. He was also on the Board of Regents at the Univ. of Iowa and later a big shot at NBC News.

Gartner wrote a nice piece about his father and how one time while driving in Des Moines he had an auto accident while turning left at an intersection. Older drivers must have this in their repertoire since my father in law, who was born and died in Des Moines did exactly the same thing. I should add they were friends so they might have traded wisdom over coffee and bagels one morning.

I know I wrote about the Queen's dad, probably six or so years ago. His name was Alec. He was the personified Scotsman. His family migrated to Canada then to Des Moines and founded the city.

Anyway, in 1984 when he was 88 he and his wife came to visit us in Davenport, Iowa. Actually, he didn't come to see me. His daughter and grandchildren were number one on his list. I was only the last piece of the puzzle.

One morning they both left their motel and were required to make a left onto Brady Street in north Davenport. Unfortunately, a vehicle coming north decided to hit them. Luckily, there were no serious injuries but my father in law did the Gartner thing; no left turns from then on in. When he drove to downtown Des Moines he planned the trip ahead of time so that only right turns would be made until he reached his destination.

A man of his word was he. However, when he was 92 he awoke in the middle of the night to do what all men do--hit the head. Unfortunately, he took a left turn out of the john, hit the wall and that was the end of my father in law.