From the Great Smokies we drove Tennessee and into Arkansas, having agreed to push on and get a motel room with shower!!!!, before we presented our stinky selves to our friends and relatives in Wichita.
Just outside Little Rock, we stopped. The best dinner option looked like the Waffle House. We had never been to a Waffle House. After perusing the menu with wonder, Marsha ordered a Chef Salad. The waitress said “What would you like on your Chef Salad?” This was a question she had not anticipated. So Marsha said, “well, what normally comes on a chef salad”. The waitress said “what’s that?”, so Marsha explained that it was usually ham and cheese and some vegetables, and hardboiled egg. Off she went, and soon we were presented with a most unusual chef salad.
There was lettuce, for sure. And ham bits. And torn up slices of American cheese. And chopped tomatoes, radishes, and carrots, onions, and hardboiled egg. And canned mushrooms. And dill pickle slices. And black olives. And jalepeno peppers. Marsha was advised that she could not have blue cheese dressing. By this time, she was so taken with the salad she didn’t care. It was a wonder. It was wonderful. What a delightful piece of Americana. Our compliments to the chef.
ICT
Oklahoma is one of those states you drive through with some relief that you are not actually going to stay there. We got turned around in Tulsa when gypsy (our GPS navigator) chose some closed roads. I got frustrated and gripy. That was the first time I got pissed off since we started this trip. I drive erratically when mad. Marsha was uncomfortable. We had to stop. After a few minutes, we came up with a strategy and away we went, away from Oklahoma. Hurray!
Wichita means family and friends. Our age-old problem is: how do you see everyone you want to see? The answer is, you can’t, especially if your stay is only a day. Our first stop was at John Frisch’s house, where we were treated to the latest of a series of extraordinary photos that John takes at Chisholm Creek Park. Look for John’s pictures on flickr.com. We rotate friend visits in Wichita stops, and were able to see Joe and Kerry Seiwert and Tim and Mary Kay Chavez on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Staying with the (Mike) Frisches is always an adventure because the house is so full of action. We added ourselves to the fast-moving life of a house with two parents, six kids, two dogs, and a cat. We wondered if Plumbob would take a look at us and run away so we would not take him away, but Plum greeted us warmly when we showed up Friday night late. He did not disappear until we actually left, then he was nowhere to be seen.
Bill and Pat Bell were warm and welcoming . Pat took off Saturday morning for a lunch date with us, and we were able to catch up. Bill is working wonders in stained glass, and presented us with two beautiful windows that were intended for our Florida home but now will live in our new abode.
During our Saturday lunch with Bill and Pat, we got a call from Denise Elder offering us a bed in Pittsburg KS. Mike and Denise were the very first couple to work with us on our Marriage Encounter talks. Marsha and I reminisced about how we fought on the way to their house because we were so uptight about being on time. We were abhorred by being 10 minutes late, and when we came into their house, they promptly put us to work washing dishes and folding the laundry that was all over the living room. We marveled that they could be so relaxed about appearances when people were coming to their house. It was a valuable lesson for us, one that we hold to this day. If you wait to have people over until your house is perfect, you will lose many opportunities to visit. And the kind of people who would be put off by a little mess you probably don’t want at your house anyway. A good life lesson for us.
Fr. Chuck Gallagher said that it is not the food, not the décor, not the clean perfection of a house that makes it welcoming, but the affection among the the members of the household. He is so right. Our favorite places to visit are often short on gourmet meals, fancy china or dust-free perfection. There is something about being welcomed into a happy family that has no earthy substitute. I envision heaven as a huge, extended happy family.
Saturday evening was a cheerful crazy mix of Frisches, Hendersons, Weesners (Steve), and various friends of the above who wandered in and out. Mike cooked up a feast of kabobs and we ate and talked forever. Every time we visit Wichita, we feel the gravitational pull of our families. We wish we could be there more, or have them where we are.
Sunday morning we arose early and headed to Salina for early Mass and brunch with Marsha’s brother Brian and his wife Gina. They were very honoring and cooked a wonderful brunch. Brian helped with some house paperwork that we needed to get to the bank. We got to hear of the exploits of Bethany, Brian’s daughter, who is now 18 and very independently minded. Brian and Gina sent us off with a care package of grapes, meat and cheese, crackers and homemade cookies.
Most of Sunday was driving through Western Kansas (see my note about Oklahoma above) on our way to Boulder to visit Kevin Gleason and his wife Ilene. Kevin is my oldest friend, and we worked together as apprentice janitors at St. Thomas Aquinas grade school. We had adventures together through high school and college, and nearly died together on Fall River reservoir when the Snipe we were sailing had a rudder attach failure and capsized. Our dinner-and-breakfast visit was far too short, and after they loaded us up with newly harvested potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers from their garden, Kevin led us to the local Walmart where we bought some sleeping bags for the high country. As I write this, we are on the peak-to-peak scenic highway headed for Grand Lake on the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park.
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