This Made Me Laugh: Adventures With Larry!

Falling back on my deep rooted Shakespearean background, I would like to start this blog by quoting my old high school buddy, Brutus. "I came to praise Larry, not bury him. The goofy stuff that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones, So let it be with Larry!" Having said this, let me tell about this past year's adventures with my good friend Larry.
I met Larry a little over a year ago while Jo and I were having a cocktail at the "Silent Woman" in beautiful downtown Fennimore. After striking up a conversation we discovered that Larry lived just about a block away down 10th Street and, like me he was retired, his wife still worked and he enjoyed grocery shopping. He suggested that I join him on his weekly shopping excursion the following week. So starts the adventure. On the designated morning, Wisconsin decided to treat us to the first snow storm of the year (if I remember correctly, the only snow storm of last winter). I figured that we would postpone our trip until the weather eased up. But, postpone is not in Larry's vocabulary. He showed up at my door at the appointed time and stated, "I have 4wheel drive and I drive slow". What he didn't state was that he didn't believe that there is such a thing as a straight line or a nonstop trip. Not only did we make two or three stops before leaving town but, he opted to go to Prairie du Chien, twenty five miles away, instead of Lancaster, 10 miles away. And, naturally, in these snowy conditions, it's better to take back roads rather than the plowed highway. In short, we left my house at 10am, we managed to get to Prairie in time for lunch (Larry insists it's dinner) by noon and returned home at five pm. The object being to always get home before the wives return from work. That first experience set the stage for many an enjoyable days roaming the countryside with Larry. On one occasion we left to do some grocerying in Lancaster and ended up having "dinner" in Savannah, Illinois or on a return trip from "who knows where" we pulled over to shout encouragement a an ice fisherman who Larry insisted was his son and only to find his son in Fennimore a short time later. I must admit on our travels I have constantly become both nourished and educated. I have met more people in Southwest Wisconsin than I ever dreamed possible and eaten "dinner" at places that I never knew existed. And, I've had laughs on days were I would have normally been sitting home with my computing machine. All provided by Larry. Another side of the former teacher, farmer, paint salesman, body shop owner is his stuff. Larry puts to shame Tim "The Toolman" Allen of "Home Improvement" fame. Anytime there's a need for a tool or a machine of some sort, Larry's the "go to" guy. If he doesn't have it, he'll make it, borrow it or, if necessary, buy it. (I actually heard that once Home Depot called him to borrow some equipment) I must admit that in the past year I've learned a lot about "small town" living while trying to explain to Larry, the joy of big city living. Our meanderings involve some great story telling from both driver and passenger seats of the car. As I said in the beginning of this tale, I don't plan on making fun of Larry, but, rather, have fun with him. Therefore I won't mention the incident when Larry inquired at a foam products factory if they had any sausage for sale retail. Okay maybe I did let that slip out. At any rate I just want to thank Old Lar for a fun year and look forward to many miles of smiles in 2013.
I did do a little research into Larry's lineage and possibly discovered the reason for his exploring nature.