Is It You

My dad's next trip was to the Annie Wittenmyer Home.  It had not been an orphanage for many years and had been turned into a library.  Dad walked the grounds and pointed out which dormitory was his and which was his brother's and sisters'.  He reminisced, not fondly, about the house mothers.  They went inside and asked if there was anything left from the orphanage days.  There was one, small file with a notebook in it.  Every year, the home held a reunion for former kids and employees.  In the notebook, they would write little notes about what they remembered.  As my dad flipped through the notebook, a page caught his eye.  "Terry Brown Hill looking for Jerry and Karen Brown, adopted 1956."  It listed a Michigan address and telephone number and was dated 1981.  Someone was looking for them!  At least 20 years before they were.  Only dad and Karen were listed.  Did Terry know where everyone else was?  So this is the part of the journey where I finally got to join in.  I got a list of every Terry Hill in Michigan, because of course the phone number listed was disconnected.  There are a ridiculous number of them in Michigan, by the way.  I figured out which address was geographically closest to the 1981 address and told dad to start with that.  Then I hid and eavesdropped.  He miss dialed several times and had to restart.  Then there was silence while the phone rang in Michigan.  After several seconds, I heard the most powerful, one-sided conversation of my life.  "My name is Jerry.  I was born Jerry Brown in Eagle Grove, Iowa and was adopted from the Annie Wittenmyer home in 1956.  I'm looking for my brother, Terry.  Is it you?"