Part 2 "Carry on my wayward son. There'll be peace when you are done." Kerry Livgren

Three weeks after my birthday, my Mom, Lisa and I left for a vacation back home to Kansas. My best friend Lee said he had a feeling that I wasn't coming back. I assured him that I was absolutely coming back. I had been to Kansas. Although I hadn't been there in 29 years I knew what to except. Small towns, friendly people, rolling hills and acres and acres of farm land. Kansas didn't disappoint. It was exactly as I remembered.

We spent next few days soaking in the mid west lifestyle with my most gracious Aunt Peggy playing host/tour guide. Meeting family members that hadn't been born the last time I was home and catching up  with family members that have been my role models for my entire life. Lisa and I both really felt at home.

Lisa and I made the 190 mile trip to my Dad's hometown of Osawatomie.  Along the way we joked " That could be our farm if we moved here. " at every homestead we passed. From the fancy 10 bedroom ranch houses up on the hill, to the doublewides trying to scratch out a living from half acre of beans.

We headed back to Florida much too soon. It wasn't long into the trip before the conversation turned to the subject of the places we went. The people we had seen.  And just the feelings the things we had experienced.
 Lisa loved sitting outside on the porch in the morning, drinking her coffee. I sat with her, noticing how fresh and clean the air was. At the same moment Lisa remarked that " it smelled like morning". She was right.                                                                          

Rebecca, Dorothy, and Lois Brown

 Mom's favorite part was the family reunion.  It was my grandparents anniversary. Just being there with her family made her so happy. But she really lit up when her Aunt Beck arrived. The whole room did. I had never met her in my adult life. Peggy had just shown me pictures of her as  a child from 80 years ago the night before. I recognized her instantly. Mom spent the majority of the rest reunion sitting and talking with her aunt. It had been a long time since I had seen her that happy.









 It was really hard for me to narrow down my favorite moment. There were so many to choose from.  I finally landed on a weird one.Just as we crossed  over the KS/OK border we made a pit stop in little one horse town with an all night gas station.  The ladies went inside to get drinks and freshen up. I went back  outside to have a smoke. The wind was blowing hard, about 20 miles an hour out of the south. It was like standing in front of blast furnace. The wind it's self was hot, I'd guess about 85 degrees, and dry.  


In Florida that doesn't occur.Winds in Florida are almost always cool because they blow across the gulf or the Atlantic ocean. The water is cooler than the land and chills the air. Either that or they are down burst winds caused by rainstorms which by nature are cooler than the surrounding air mass. Another thing is the wind is very humid from blowing through the rain or across the water. If are lucky enough to stand in a sustained 20 mph wind, you'd end up damp. Just this little change in atmosphere enthralled me.Well once again I've prattled on much longer than I intended. I had hoped to finish this story in this post, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. So please stay tuned. I promise I'll finish it in our next episode...

Family Reunion 2011