OH,DAN!
It is amazing to think a year has passed since we lost you Dan. We had many times of sharing, and what great laughs we have had together. I have never been one good with a pen, so understand the procrastination, and accept this late entry.
Our family home was near Underhill, Manitoba, our little hamlet where most social events and services were offered in the earlier years. Many things changed during the next 20 years. The family got larger, the community got smaller, and the older children became adults. Barbara traveled to Europe without any idea of where or what her travels would be. Communication in those days was very different, inefficient, and expensive by phone. We got a picture of this "nice guy" she had met at the US army base in Germany. We poured over it. He was darned handsome, and looked strong and honourable. Soon the word came: Barbara had married Mr. Dan McQueen. The next chapter was Barbara was living in California and then before long she was mother to her first born, the first branch from our generation. . The time arrived and the whole family was reeling....Barb and her husband Dan, and baby Tonya were coming to Underhill! A hippie-coloured van drove up the driveway. How excited we were to see Barb, meet Dan and hold that baby! First impressions are lasting and meeting Dan made this saying so true. Dan accepted each of the family and all our idiosyncrasies! How blessed we have been having him in our family.
Barb and Dan joined our family gatherings on many occasions, by driving up to Canada. I remember Dan being so shocked at Canada Highway Number One that runs across our large country that looked so impressive on the map, and discovering it was a two-laned highway with two way traffic...unheard of in California. Dan always stepped in to help with whatever was needed to be done and he always was reliable to get his task done, whether the correct tools were available or not...just improvise!
One of our week long family reunions was hosted by our aunt and uncle and their family on their ranch. What a wonderful time we had, and lots of stories. The night of unplanned supper, a group of us went for the "special" of fish and chips at a local spot. It was a great spot along the lake front, with outdoor setting on that hot evening. the waitress brought us our water, and our menus. She returned to take our orders. We ordered a few beers and drinks, She responded to our beer choice "I'm sorry, we are out of that", but we managed to get something to quench our thirsts. Licking our chops to order the recommended special of the day, she took our meal orders, but we heard the same "I'm sorry! We are out of that" or "I'm sorry, we only offer that on Friday". We got our orders in. We waited and waited for our meals, and drink reorders. They finally arrived served by a new waiter. Dan asked "So, where is Sorry!" It was hilarious!'
Mom made the trip to Colorado for many years come winter in Manitoba, spending a lot of weeks with the McQueens. How she enjoyed all the hustle and bustle of the family's activities through school, work, shopping and outings. Together Barb, Dan and family all contributed to Mom's days. Dan had no irritation with Mom's big demand for "A cuppa tea!". He accommodated her just fine; in fairness to Mom, she needed tea, but could go a long time without a hunt for a washroom with all that tea aboard! In return for his understanding, Mom would bake Dan some pies!
On one of my travels to Loveland, I arrived by air. Barb and Dan picked me up at Denver, a huge airport, kinda scary for a country bumpkin. I made sure they had the gate of arrival and time etc, and what would I do if they didn't get there?! Barb tells Dan "you can pick her out...she will be wearing a brightly coloured outfit!" and eagle-eyed Dan spied me, and I was so happy that we had eye contact from that throng of people. Dan told me "It was easy to see you!"
We had the privilege to attend Tonya's wedding in Switzerland. What a lot of organization to accommodate the different guests travelling for the event. Some family stayed on awhile after the wedding, and we joined Dan and Barb at a hotel for several nights while Christine and Casey took a second honeymoon side trip, leaving their sweet little on w with Grandpa and Grandma to babysit with care. There were special instructions for the job. Bedtime such an hour; breakfast this food etc. When we contacted then the first m orning to reconfirm our schedule, Brent asked how the first morning was going with the little one. Dan reported "Just fine! Piper is having breakfast Grandpa made for her. She loved her hotdog!" We knew for sure that hot dogs were not on the breakfast menu list!
The following are some stories that came from our travel times to Mexico with Dan and Barb:
Travelling in Mexico has led to many exciting adventures as the days of old, most traffic maneuverability was based on the law of survival. Dan and Barbara had a tremendous sense of adventure and were a perfect fir for some of our experiences. Travel on "THE BUS" was great fun and the adventures we had were directly proportional to the amount of tequila consumed on a travel day. But Dan! You missed the one day on THE BUS that we were sure wishing you had been with us. All the shocks were broken on the vehicle, and it was a rough, and I mean rough, bumpy ride! A young lady that was also taking in a bus ride was hanging on for dear life, both arms busy holding on to keep her from being thrown to the ceiling. Her nice open blouse was a great exit for her boobs to pop out and shake around...she could not take either hand off the support to pop them back in!
We also had some interesting trips with the local taxi drivers that were always trying to scare the pants off the tourist for twice the price of a normal fare. Did you realize that in the old days, seat belts were not to hold the passengers safely in place but instead were used to hold the seats from sliding around in the taxi?! With each breaking of the cab the back seat would slide, and Dan just would give the seat a glare!
We did not speak any Spanish, but Dan had learned some of the language in his younger days. One evening he negotiated a ride with a young Mexican sho spoke no English, and are game, we spoke very little Spanish. Dan sat in the front seat and his size intimidated the young driver who had no idea where we wanted to go. As we left the bright lights of Puerto Vallarta , he took a wrong turn and soon we were all lost. The further we drove in the dark, the more we were convinced that we were going to be robbed. Little did we know that the poor guy driving the cab thought we were goin to rob him! Fortunately, we met another cab in the middle of nowhere that explained how to get to our resort and everyone had a good laugh about our adventure. Dan commented that we should have been a little suspicious when the driver's name was "Chicken Afraido!"
Another cabbie ride Dan negotiated. We were trying to set up for later in the evening, wanting to make sue we would have a ride home later that night from the downtown. We were assured that this cabbie would be there....he could accommodate 5 adults nicely in his vehicle. The cabbie wanted to take us right then and get his fare, but Dan arranged a late pick up. The cabbie sure wanted the fare, and wanted Dan to remember that his cabbie name was "Pinky"! Dan didn't think it would be a problem. "And I don't know whey they call me Pinky" he says on the cab late pick up. "I think I could!" Dan replied. Those of us hearing this from the back seat had a hard time to keep laughter below howls. We were dodging in and around cars, and the cabbie confesses to recent "learning" how to drive, and Dan says "And still learrrrrning!" Dan paid the cabbie extra for the entertainment after all his negotiation time!
There are many more stories that could be shared. We treasure our time together, and you will always be missed, and always be remembered with love. Bev and Brent
