Tonight finds me in southwest Missouri - Springfield to be exact! I am at my friend Cathy's house and believe it or not, we had not seen each other in about 30 years! We went to high school together and reconnected on facebook and just really seemed like kindred spirits leading similar lives so have kept in touch a lot and when she heard about my trip, she invited me to come. What the heck - what's 30 years?!
It was an interesting drive as I ventured further south through Illinois and into Missouri. For starters, I have to find out what that store was about an hour on the other side of St. Louis that had a big Paul Bunyon, what looked like an old Tastee Freeze stand and all kinds of HUGE things out front!! I have to go back! Then as I got further into Missouri, I could tell the wildlife had changed a bit when I saw billboards tauting the evils of feral hogs and what to do if you saw them!! Really? Power to the smart ones who got out to escape slaughter I guess! And must admit that I am not using to seeing roadkill armadillo in Utah either! There were the usual "repent for your sins" and "attend the church of your choice this Sunday" billboards which are to be expected in the Bible Belt. And not far from Springfield I saw a billboard that taunted me and made me stop ...... "World's Largest Gift Store"! WHAT?! I'm in! Must admit it was a bit of a disappointment - not so much in size but in the offerings for sale. Kinda felt like a huge garage sale.
So on a beautiful, sunny day with a temperature of 75 degrees, I arrived at the home of my fellow PHS Class of '79 grad and we picked up right where we left off. She and her husband Jeff are very gracious hosts and we talked the evening away. It's comforting to know that after all these years, connections you had back then can be quickly brought back to life! She's also a great cook and made a wonderful dinner so I am stuffed and happy as I end my day. However I am beginning to think that I may need to go shopping for some new pants by the time this trip is over as everyone seems to want to feed me!!
It's Halloween too, but since she kind of lives in the country there were no trick or treaters here (or at home in Salt Lake City, Brad said). I thought I ought to have a holiday appropriate song for this day so had to choose between two. Went with John Prine's "Daddy's Little Pumpkin" - maybe not so much about real pumpkins or Halloween but it's a song I love by an artist I love, so it's great to find a way to get him in here! The other contender was a song by Florence and the Machine called "My Boy Builds Coffins". Love that one too - thanks for introducing me to her Matt! Could have also gone with something like "Saturday Night Fever" or "My Sharona" since they were hits that year too - but in reality my musical tastes at that point in my life were more Carpenters and Janis Ian!
So on that note, ..... take it away John!
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