Dateline Dayton —A week ago Sunday, after attending church in Piqua, my brother Mark and I were speaking with our Florida-bound aunt. She told us her house in Piqua finally had sold.

She has most things under control; however, small items and boxes needed to be transferred to her new home in Florida.

She didn’t know how to get that accomplished. All of her children had obligations, and she needed to get everything moved. The house would close on Monday, and she only had twenty days to vacate.

My brother and I told her we would take her belongings to Florida. After having breakfast with Aunt Alma and my sisters, we proceeded to her home. From my aunt’s description, , I felt we could get everything in my van.

But after getting to her house and seeing what she wanted moved, with a desk being added to what we had been told, it was obvious we would need a trailer.

My sister’s next-door neighbor works at a storage facility that rents trailers. Susan called to see how soon we could arrange a trailer. First thing Monday morning, Rita assured Susan.

Rita kept her promise and told us the trailer would be ready by Tuesday morning.

Knowing that we had a trailer, I called Aunt Alma and asked if Wednesday would work for her.

By 9 Wednesday morning, Mark, Susan and I met at my aunt’s with the trailer in tow. By 11, the trailer was loaded and we were on our way to Florida.

Mark, being younger, can drive for a longer period, so it was almost midnight before we stopped. He suggested pulling into a rest stop for a few hours sleep. At 3:30 we awoke, and we were back on the road by 4.

After stopping for breakfast, we reached Aunt Alma’s new Florida home at 9:30 a.m. Her son and his wife soon arrived, unlocked the house and helped us unload. In no time, we were finished. Mark was given a quick tour of the house and Sun City Center.

We then went to my cousin’s home, also in Sun City, and had something to drink. and Mark was given a tour of their place. I called my son Chris, who lives in Tampa, to see if we could meet him for lunch.

But he was on his way to the office, working the late shift, and his lunch hour would not be until 2:30. I asked if he could switch with someone so we could eat by 11:30. He could, and we were off to Tampa.

Meeting Chris at his office, we lunched and soon were on the way to our next stop.

Next week — the return trip.

Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net