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Back from Iowa. Almost fell on my ass several times because of the snow and ice but it was a nice enough place, even if we were almost killed twice in car crashes because of Dubuque drivers. Grandpa is going to die in a couple days most likely, but that's what we thought and that's why we went: the main reason was to say hi (goodbye?) to grandpa and clean out his apartment. Which despite being relatively small (one combined kitchen and living room with a small bedroom, a closet, and a kitchen) took about 4 hours each day for 4 days. I learned a lot about him and his life doing that at least. I knew barely anything about him before then, since he was thousands of miles away and family rarely comes up in conversation. He was one hell of a guy. A medic in the Korean War, an English teacher, a provost at a community college, hell he was even the "Masked Marvel" on his basketball team in the 50s. He used to write poems and send them off to greeting card companies for a few bucks each, and he'd write a lot about a lot of things in general. He researched his ancestry; nothing really noteworthy (mom's side was Germano-Nebraskan farmers, dad's side was French-Canadian later Iowan tailors and farmers, and apparently one of the earliest settlers of Montreal was one of them). If I can do even half of what he's done I'll die happy. Which seems to be the way he's doing it, he's at peace with it all. As he said he's 91 and not really dying of anything in particular, and my dad and I think he's just ready to go on. In less intimate vacation news I went to my first casino, which sucked. I don't know why old people love these things, and I'm not even adverse to gambling. Saw Eagle Point Park and Mississippi Lock and Dam #11, whose tourist placard said it was the only major lock and dam that had not yet undergone maintenance and restoration! Wowwee. Also saw the world-famous Dubuque shot tower which opened in the 1850s and closed within 3 years because the St. Louis shot tower undercut its prices and drove Dubuque's tower into bankruptcy. It's so world famous that I decided that even though I wasn't going to take any pictures during the trip I would make an exception for this tourist hotspot. Don't be too jealous now, it'll still be there if you wanna book a flight to see it yourself. The casinos are only a couple of blocks away.

She had a long and happy life, thats what matters.