Sunday evening. 4:00 p.m.

Ring!

“Hi Jeff!” my dad says. “How are you doing?”

“Fine,” I reply. “How about you?”

“Could be better.” Uh-oh. Good things rarely follow those words.

“Why’s that?” I ask, cognizant of the fact my dad was supposed to be driving back from South Dakota at the time.

“Well, I’m stranded in Worthington. The Tahoe’s fuel pump seems to have gone out.”

For those unfamiliar with the area, Worthington is a small town about 15 miles north of Iowa in southwestern Minnesota. In other words, it’s about 190 miles from Minneapolis.

“Do you have any plans for the rest of the afternoon?” my dad continued.

“Um, driving to Worthington?” I drolly offered.

Needless to say, I was in Worthington by eight o’clock. The way I see it, I couldn’t have a weekend without several hundred miles of driving; it just wouldn’t seem right!