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Iowa: 39 states down, 11 to go

My fist encounter with Buddy Holly was when I was about seven or eight and my dad was taking my sister and me ice-skating- I remember hearing “Everyday” and loving “the little piano.”  When we lived in London we went to the production of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story at least three times.  I can also remember learning how to drive stick in the senior center parking lot and talking with my dad about someday visiting the Surf Ballroom and going out to the crash site.

February 3^rd was the 51st anniversary of Buddy Holly’s death and on Saturday February 5th we drove out to Clearlake, Iowa to honor Buddy’s memory.

the rentals out front

We walked around the Surf Ballroom where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper played their last show then had a bizarre lunch at Bennigan’s (who knew they still existed) and took a ten minute bus ride out to the field where the plane went down.

A pair of Buddy Holly glasses mark the start of the half mile walk to site where the plane went down.  What struck me the most was how desolate it is- there is nothing there fifty years later.  I didn’t want to have my picture taken with the memorial but I was glad to be there to honor Buddy.  Over the years people have left things behind-guitar pics and other personal items- in honor of the four men that died there.

It was special to visit Clearlake with my dad- who not only loves Buddy but also resembled him in his youth.  What was even better was the fact that my mom was with us and was able to walk the half mile through snow and ice.  Before her brain surgery she wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing something like this let alone actually do it.  This was a great big reminder of how far she has come at a time I am needing a little reminding.

Over the six weeks we have been struggling to find the bestsetting for mom’s programming and it has been hard on all of us.  It is hard on me and my father because we want her to be okay and obviously it is hard on mom.  I tell her we are going backward to go forward but it can be hard to believe that when you are not seeing results and falling a lot.  Mom has had her brain implants programmed twice and has a range that she can work in to raise and lower to find the right setting.  Everyday we get closer.  Everyday.

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