I was just thinking of Dad and remembered my own story about his driving.  I don't remember exactly where we were.  We were on our way home from a family trip (I believe I was a teenager) and it was snowing very heavily.  As we were cruising down the highway the vehicle in front of us lost control and wiped out.  Dad quickly swerved into the grass median and maneuvered right around the accident and back onto the road.   I remember specifically the moment of tense silence as the entire event unfolded.  At the time it did not seem to even phase dad as he just kept cruising along. Thinking about it now I wonder if his heart skipped a couple of beats like the rest of ours. 

To go along with Otis' stories of Don driving.  On the drive home from our weekend honeymoon in the Poconos I was dozing across the bench front seat with my head on Don's right thigh.   Don was just about past our entrance ramp onto a freeway when he realized it.  Next thing I knew my head was against the driver's door and I was surrounded by wedding presents which had previously been nesting in the backseat.  We did, however, make it onto the freeway ramp.  Funny, in subsequent years I couldn't get Don to turn around for miles after missing an exit.  Lol.

I remember our two families hitting things off right away.  Our families got together to have fun and vacation together.  Don was always smiling when he was with his family.  I know that Don is greatly missed and his memory will live on through our pictures and stories that we will share together.  Thank you Don for loving on our family; until we meet again.  My love and prayers go out the entire family.

I was best man at Don and Deb's wedding.  Don lived with me in my apartment in Elmira NY for a summer before he married, and then lived with Deb.  Back then, we had little money, and were just getting started.  So, Donny  paid for his rent by giving me a few bucks and a huge window fan because it was so hot in our second floor apartment.  I still have the dam fan. I posted about it a couple years ago on FB.  It's pretty dirty and missing some grille, but it still works and keeps me cool in the garage workshop.  Make sure you hug your kids, enjoy your friends to the fullest and don't let "work" get in the way of that.  Friends like Donny don't live forever, and life moves very quickly.

Otis shared a story with me I wanted to pass along....   " I did "take care" of his apartment when Don was on his honeymoon.  We put a bunch of little bells under the bed tied to the bed springs, filled the shower head, toilet tank, and fawcets with koolaid.  And then put peanuts and rice all over the place in drawers, boxes, cabinets, cups etc.  I think when they moved from that apartment they laughed about finding more when they cleaned out everything. Happy tears!  LOL!"

Don and I were always working to pay our way through college. I paved a LOT of roads during the summer, and Don worked with a company that built bleachers, or replaced the rotting boards on old ones.  Well, we did several jobs, but one spring break, he had a job up in Irondequoit, NY... near Oswego as I recall.  Anyway, the company left it up to him to get the job done over the week.  Well, the aluminum replacements didn't arrive until Wednesday afternoon,  and he needed help to get it done in just 4 days and get back to college.  So he called me and asked me if I could work with him to get them done.  So, at 5 AM, I left Syracuse in my old Buick... and was to his house by 6 AM.  We needed to get to the job by 7 AM if we were going to make good progress.  Off we went, hard rock blaring, faster than a bullet on back roads that Donny knew like the back of his hand.  He'd been pulling the old boards off for like three days so, no worries on turns, curves etc.  Welp... it was foggy that morning, I was holding on to my custom seat grips, and lo and behold, the stop sign that Don knew was there, appeared out of the fog in just enough time to slide through the intersection into someone's driveway.  One car length off the cross-road that we zipped through without getting plowed into from a crossing vehicle!  We both sat there for a second, silent, music blaring... and then both of us started laughing like crazy men until we had tears in our eyes. Then he started the car up (it stalled as we locked all four wheels up!) and threw it in reverse and off we went.  We lived for another day! Miss Don and those crazy days!

Donny and I were pretty good friends in college.  He had a car... and lived near Central Square, north of my home of Syracuse NY.  We liked a beer and a toke now and then, but as college kids, sometimes we didn't really use our heads on when that should occur... ahem...  
One time, on the way home for Christmas and holiday break, we left after our last class at about 4 PM.  Just about dusk.  Well, after a half hour, it started to snow, hard!  Oh, we knew snow... we were from up north, Hoser.  So no worries.  Donny figured if we went faster, we'd get there before it got really bad.  We did fine really.  The handle holds that I made in the seat of the green Maverick are still there I'm sure!  Well, needless to say, Don was a better wheel man than me, and we did just fine, but, about a half hour away from Syracuse, we lost the alternator.  No problem.  We'd get to my house and could get a belt, or whatever, and he'd be on the road north to his home. When we got to my house, we popped the hood and there was so much snow under the hood, the belt was slipping on the alternator.  After some clearing of snow with a hockey stick and and tightening the belt... again, with the hockey stick... he was on his way, there safely in a half hour...  you know, the one ring collect call thing we used to call long distance back then. Needless to say, we did this several times before we graduated.  Oh... and I have another story!... 

The following link is a compilation of pictures from a lifetime of a wonderful man.  It has its own music so turn off the sound on the memorial page. 

https://youtu.be/O0sjMoyRuqo