Traveling with a dog has its advantages

 Back in June, I left home on a Friday, heading to my grandson Devin's high school graduation.  I had a car loaded with items for Devin's family and also with items for my nephew, Michael Douglas, whom we're now all calling Mikey to distinguish him from the other Michael's in our lives.  Picture the Beverly Hillbillies in a white Jeep, with a Chihuahua.  The trip went swimmingly until I was about 90 miles from home, when the Jeep began behaving in a most peculiar fashion.  I pulled into a gas station, called AAA, and waited 2.5 hours for a tow truck to arrive.  Most of that time I spent inside the gas station, holding Laramie, because it was 103, plus or minus a degree, outside. The tow truck arrived just in time to ensure that every car repair place in the city was closed.  Nevertheless, off went the car, while the dog and I, plus some luggage, walked up a steep drive to a motel perched on a small mountain.

Laramie on Devin's bed, which holds the quilt I made Devin's mom three years ago.  Traveling with a small dog is annoying, but it also helps keep the stress level down for the over-100-degree-standing-in-a-gas-station-for-hours-spending-the-night-in-a-motel-cooling-my-heels-all-day-waiting-for-the-Jeep-to-be-repaired part of the trip.  The Jeep, by the way, remained in West Virginia; Laramie and I caught a cab to the airport and rented a car because at five thirty the repair place decided they couldn't complete the job in time.  Half an hour earlier, and I could have picked up a car from the rental place ten minutes away, but what with it having closed, I had to trek the 30 miles out to an airport and then retrace my path on the interstate.  Good to have a perky pet along to hold your attention in such circumstances.

I no doubt took a nap, and a few hours later was up, dressed, and out the door.  Graduation was held at Eastern North Carolina University.

Devin, center stage. A Typical American High School Graduation photo.  Only the color of the robes change from school to school and decade to decade.  At my graduation, the girls wore white robes and the boys wore navy blue. Both Devin and I also had thin gold robes around our shoulders, indicating that we studied really hard and got really, really good grades, 'cause that's just the kind of dedicated human beings we are.

And here he is again, grinning and waving to us up in the bleachers.

Jennifer is the one crying in the middle. In the yellow shirt is Devin's brother Bradley, who is in the Navy and was leaving the next morning for Bahrain.  In the blue shirt is Devin's dad, Troy.