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It was just one year ago that my oldest son Adam and I were sent on a family quest to rescue Grandpa Jack. It brings tears to my eyes to flash back to that adventure, for here we had a man in the later end of his life proving that he still had it... “It” being defined as independence and the ability to make it out on the open road. I did not know it at the time if my decision to go would forever be resented by my Father-in-law, or if he would take it in the spirit of love with which our efforts were being given. Please take a few moments with me to remember the experience...
December 6, 2004
It's a great day here in Orem, Utah. Have you ever had the pleasure of hitting the open road with your 10 year old son in an effort to rescue a family member 11 hours away? Well that is what I had the pleasure of doing with my son Adam and what a great trip it turned out to be.
Adam is a great traveling companion and very mature for just 10 years of age. When I invited him along at 9 PM he has thrilled with the thought of missing school and being able to see the landscape between northern Utah and Phoenix, Arizona. One of Adam’s favorite subjects is geography. It seems that he has a teacher, Mrs. Geary, who shares with him and his fellow 5th graders post cards from all over the United States and Adam wanted the chance to see some of those places.
 The goal of the trip was to drive straight through to Phoenix where Adam’s Grandfather had decided to drive his classic car to a car show. The car is a 1952 Rocket 88 and known as Mellow Yellow. Even with a new motor, rebuilt 6 volt generator, rebuilt transmission and various other new extras, I knew that this was a tough trip to make from Cedar City, Utah to Phoenix without any mishaps.
Grandpa Jack headed out in Mellow Yellow and was doing okay until the 6 volt gas gauge misled him into thinking he was okay when just 10 miles out of Flagstaff he ran out of gas... Oh well, Triple A cards come in handy.... That is if you are in an area where the cell phone works. Those of you in populated areas probably can’t imagine being in an area where the cell phone does not work, but when you travel through the desolate portions of Utah and Arizona there are many areas where the reception bars on the cell phone register zero.
 In Jack’s case the good Samaritan happened to be a cowboy on horseback who found him and offered to ride back to his ranch for a gas can. The gas was the beginning of his issues. The newly rebuilt generator was now squealing, which is a sure sign that the bearings were shot. If Jack had a 1954 then it would have been a 12 volt unit and available anywhere. In 1952 the system was 6 volts and nobody keeps their cars running 6 volts. And driving with a shot generator means that the car is as good as the battery. Being closer to civilization the cell phone worked and the AAA rescue operator sent out at least 3 rescue workers over the next couple of days.
 Jack’s goal had been to participate in one of the biggest car shows in the western U.S.. With over 3,000 entries the lure was just too much and my father-in-law couldn’t resist. When I found out about his plight I looked at my wife Shelly and told her that I couldn’t forgive myself if I did not leave for Phoenix with the largest selection of tools known to man and shadow Jack back home again. Call it crazy, but I left out from home with the same craziness that Jack had just 4 days prior. But I had the sense to do it in a much newer vehicle.
 With Adam as my navigator and my 7 pound toy poodle Joey as my co-driver we headed out. Being winter we hit severe weather and the travel went from clear sailing to treacherous as the snow storms were heavy. Adam kept me awake as it was our goal to drive through the night with as few of stops as possible. If you flash back to my inspection of the K Motel in Kanab, Utah earlier this year, Adam & I decided to sleep in the car once we made it to that point of our journey. With Joey keeping watch Adam and I caught about 3 hours of shut eye before the sky lightened and we headed back out again.
Adam was a joy to take on this trip. He was inquisitive about everything. He wanted to know about the topography, the Indians, and all of the history. His questions caught me off guard because I was without one of my best father’s helpers, Google. Typically I will get a difficult question around the house and I will excuse myself for a minute or two and hit the Google Search for the needed answer. Driving along I only had the information that I have retained thus far in life.
 One of our funniest memories of our trip will be our snowball fight in the parking lot of Denny’s in Flagstaff, Arizona. He drilled me in the head and then I had 3 of the luckiest shots in my life. The first hit him in his privates, the second went to his now bent over head, and the final drilled him in his bum as he was laying on the ground from the initial shot below his belt. The whole event left us laughing and giggling all the way through breakfast.
Adam, Joey, and I made it to our target and had a great return trip back to Utah. The Rocket 88 was now sporting a once again newly rebuilt generator, but it still needed a jump at every stop along with a new tire, but the car cruised smoothly along Route 66.  Turning off that famous highway we headed for the Hoover Dam. I had been telling Adam about this great dam and about my trip with my dad to the same dam when I was Adam’s age. I explained to Adam about my experience heading down the elevator to the generator room, but that since 9-11 this privilege has been restricted. We approached the dam and took every photo opp possible. As we toured around the top of the dam I was drawn to the main tour and learned that just a couple of week’s prior the security for the dam had been eased up and that we could take the plunge 51 stories to the generator room.
Adam was so thrilled to be able to get the full tour of the dam. As we left the elevator and walked to this famous room Adam was the one that noticed the water running down the sides of the earthen tunnel walls. Seeing the water flow does not breed confidence and this just added to the anxiety level of the experience. A touching moment happened at the gift shop of Hoover Dam as Adam wanted to buy post cards for his teacher who had previously exposed Adam to this wonder of the world. Adam carefully selected the post cards that he wanted to take to give to his teacher so that she could add them to her collection.
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Jack Gale Webb Jr.
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7/16/1936 - 12/5/2005
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I am sad to report the death and passing of my Father-in-law, Father to my wife, and "Grumpa" to my children. My emotions are close to the surface and I am having a hard time composing my thoughts. I respect Jack a great deal and always respected the way he took to my kids. The tears swell as I think of Jessica, Adam, Haily, and Aaron's void... And then there is Shelly. She has spent the last 3 months taking almost evey eaking moment that her health would allow and directed her efforts to helping out her Dad.
Jack's sister wrote of her Brother: Dear Friends and Family, at 4:55 Am December 5th, my dearest brother passed peacefully into his eternal rest after a long and valiant struggle with diabetes. He was surrounded by his family. Patti, his wife was by his side and his daughter Wendi was holding his hand when in his sleep his heart slowly stopped beating. The family had been around his bed and kept a vigil throughout the weekend. Someone was by his side 24 hours a day from Thursday until he slipped away from us. We laughed, cried, hugged and helped each other to say goodbye.......Jack most of the time recognized us and would try to respond to those who talked to him and hugged him. His wife, 6 children and their families were all there along with me , his only sibling, and nieces and nephews who all were able to to say good bye and tell him they loved him. He wanted to be with his family until the end.....I am sure it is the reason he lingered so long. I will miss him, for he was my hero, my protector, my guardian through childhood, my rock to the end. Thank you for all your love, prayers and support. The funeral will be in Cedar Hills on Thursday, December 8th at 12 noon. With much love, Lu, Mom
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Imagine that you are driving to your 11 AM inspection and the cell phone rings. It happens to be the listing agent of the home and the agent says..... “Uh Dan, I believe that the inspection this morning will have to be cancelled because the house just blew up!” This is a true life story as shared by Dan Norman from Colorado. 
. You can see in the image to the right my actions. With one click of the SFD Contract action the template is opened and the information is merged. To accomplish this do the following.
