Armand should be back in the U.S. of A. today. It appears that he has a day or two before he gets into his "roadster" for the drive to Colorado. Total estimated miles according to MapQuest: 1524.37 miles .
While he rests, let us not be denied of a Mondo-logue. Here's another story Armand told me about his first trip to Europe:
I also remember that on that trip, my mother almost set fire to our hotel room. We were in Vienna one morning, and my father had gone down to the lobby to read the newspaper. He was too cheap to buy a paper, you know.
Well, Mother used to curl her own hair and in those days the curling iron was heated with an alcohol burner. She must have wanted to avoid accidentally burning the top of the dresser because she placed the burner in an open, top drawer and there must have been some papers in there.
Well, then the drawer caught on fire! My mother, though an excitable person, was always calm in times like this, so she pulled out the drawer and threw it out the window! Then told me to go downstairs and bring it back.
Luckily, the drop from a few stories high did not damage the drawer or any human by-stander. Six year old, Armand, scurried past his father who was engrossed in his newspaper, picked up the drawer, and ran back upstairs to his mother.
I don't believe that my father ever knew that it happened.
If you marvel at Armand's memory, here are some strategies to help retain those precious moments.