The Easter Trip

The family took a trip to Alexandria, Virginia over the Easter weekend to visit my two daughters and their families. As usual, this trip was not without interesting events.

First was the near-death experience the four of us had on I-495 heading south. We got to 495 about 3 p.m., early enough I had thought to beat the rush-hour traffic. Wrong. Traffic was thick and slow. I-495 is six lanes wide in some places, and all six were full. As we approached the exit ramp for I-395 and I-95, the two exit lanes were at a dead stop, with cars backing up well on to I-495. The other four lanes were moving, although somewhat slowly. That would prove to be a blessing.

As we traveled in the next lane to the stopped traffic at about 45 mph, a small, blue pickup pulled out about one and one-half car links ahead. I slammed on the brakes and moved a little to the left, trying to avoid the crash that appeared inevitable, and trying not to cause one on the left. We didn’t collide with the idiot in the pickup, but it was about as close as you could get to it.

Later that evening, a group of us was out on the deck and my son, son-in-law and I were tossing a stuffed football with three year-old grandson #1. Sometimes he would trap the ball, and we would cheer. Sometimes he would actually catch the ball. And we would cheer. And, of course, sometimes he would miss the ball. After a string of several misses he said, “Aw! I’ve got cheese hands.”

“What did he say,” my son asked? “Did he say, ‘cheese head?’” obviously thinking of Packers fans.

“I thought he said ‘cheese hands,’’ someone said.

About that time his mother who was working a short distance away said, “No, darlin’, it’s not ‘cheese hands,’ it’s ‘butter fingers.’”

We all thought that was pretty funny.

It was a good trip, all in all.