Nothing Ever Happens in Small Towns

Day 32:  Saturday, April 23, 2016

Yesterday we crossed the Mississippi River in St. Louis after a pleasurable meandering through the Missouri hills via scenic byways.  As we crossed the river into Illinois, the land flattened out and all along the highway I observed the large fields being prepped for spring planting.  Our meandering has led us further north than we expected to be, putting us very close to our friends, Don and Sally, in Paxton IL.  How can we pass up the opportunity to see them again?  They have been friends for over fifty years!  I called last night.  Don and Sally are available and we will enjoy a visit with them this evening.

We’ll pass through Champaign IL on our way to Don and Sally’s.  Our son, Luke and his wife, Kim, met there during their graduate school days—and our grandson Ethan was born there.  Don and Sally befriended Luke and Kim during their studies and we were and are so appreciative of their care.  Such friends are rare!

Paxton is just a little town—but some years ago, I received word that Eleni (a member of a Greek family I knew on the Island of Crete in 1960) was living there.  After a Yokefellow Conference in Indiana, I rented a car and drove to visit Eleni and her husband, Duane, in IL—and to visit with Don and Sally too.  Eleni was just a little girl when I was on Crete—how good it was to see her again all grown up—and in Paxton IL.  Since then, I’ve visited a number of times with Eleni and her family.  And some say nothing ever happens in small towns!