On the Road from Smith Center, Kansas 4/6/10

(Note: This blog post was trapped in a time vortex somewhere between Kansas and Alaska and only just arrived today.)

Friend - (Joe) You make it to church Easter Sunday?

PR - You know I rolled into St Francis, Kansas the day before. On a simulated white capsule it said home of Tom Evans, Apollo 17 astronaut. Alright! Saw that across the street on my way to a dairy queen like place for ice cream. It was closed but a sign said go to the bowling alley on the side. I decided to wait.

F - It was a simple question?

PR - Patience amigo. I've got an Easter story to tell.

A man driving a van pulls out onto the highway just as I was turning off the main road. At the DQ he pulls up along side me. He had turned around. I recognized him. He says if you go behind the museum across the street there's a camp ground where you can take a shower. I needed a shower bad. This was welcome news.

I say thanks but I don't have a towel, then think again, yes I do have a small one. It would work but no soap. I'm thinking out loud. Is there any soap there I ask? No he says but look on the women's side. I needed to buy alcohol for my stove and ask directions to a hardware store which normally carries the stuff. He gives me directions to a place in downtown St. Francis north of the highway a few blocks.

F - I'm with you.

PR - I find the hardware store, buy a quart of stove fuel then cross the street to the grocery store to get soap among other things. A woman had fallen outside the store and paramedics had her in a neck brace lying on a stretcher awaiting transport when I went in. That's where Neal found me, the man who told me about the shower.

F- He tracked you down?

PR - Yes he did. I'm not hard to miss. You know he said he put a towel and soap in the shower for me. Wow! Kindness. Neal told me earlier that he took care of the camp ground for the city. It was a part time job for him. He was retired. Manna from heaven. Then he says tomorrow is Easter Sunday. I wish him Happy Easter.

F - Then what?

PR - I headed back to the DQ, the bowling alley part that was open. An ice cream cone treat was calling. After that I checked out the campground and took a shower. Man did that feel goooood!

F - I bet.

PR - Yeah it was great! I was all set to leave town. It was early enough yet to make miles. I'd parked my bike outside the restroom/shower. I loaded up and was on my way. I wasn't out of the campground when I noticed my rear tire was low.

F- You had a flat?

PR - Sort of. Turns out the valve stem was leaking. I didn't think to check that first before taking the wheel off and removing the tube. It hadn't happened before. And I didn't have a tool or an old style pronged cap that would loosen the valve.

F - What'd you do?

PR - I left my bike in the campground and went looking for an old valve cap, wheel in hand. A lot of places that might have something were closed for Easter. I tell you, I looked at a lot of old cars and trucks but they all had new style flat caps. I finally found one on an old wheel barrow lying upside down in tall grass behind a repair garage. That fixed the leak after I found a place with an air hose and re inflated the tire. Air cost a dollar at that place.

I took the valve cap and replaced it with mine intending to keep it. Thought about it later. It may have been a small thing but I put the old one back.

F - A guilty conscience?

PR - Maybe, putting it back was liberating. I didn't have to think about it one way or the other anymore.

F - You left town then?

PR - No, by this time I was getting the message stick around. It was well into the afternoon by this time besides. I set my tent up in a nice grassy spot, out of the wind behind a bushy Juniper tree. There was water and electricity where I could charge my cell phone. It was free. Not many campgrounds like that anymore.

F - The rest of the story, please.

PR - The next morning I'm awake early and hear church chimes playing, an Easter sunrise service beginning somewhere. I lay there wondering, should I get up and go or not? Okay, I'm awake it's Easter Sunday, a special time to celebrate and honor Jesus. I get up still bleary eyed and walk out of the campground. It's not the church near the campground as I thought. It was closed and there's none in sight. Oh well, I tried. I head east, maybe the restaurant I'd seen the day before was open, treat myself to breakfast. It was closed.

Just past the restaurant I see a sign up ahead on the right. In bold letters it says Peace Lutheran Church eight blocks north. I hang a left at the arrow and keep walking. Should have ridden my bike. I'll be late.

F - You made it to church then?

PR - Yeah, I was late but just in time for communion I was told on entering? I missed the sermon. Could this be Neal's church I wondered? Naw, what are the chances of that?

I could have been in my old church. The pastor was way up front. Rows of empty pews separated him from a small crowd of early risers. They're all sitting back in the middle and rear pews me included. The really humble sit way back I guess.

The pastor announces the final hymn. It begins. You couldn't hear the singing for the organ playing. It wasn't up from the grave he arose either. What verse was everyone on? It didn't matter no one could tell. It blessedly ends. All this brought a smile. No one I knew there.

F - You left then?

PR - Heck no! Easter Breakfast was next man. I was invited to stay You don't walk out the door when free food's being dished up. No oatmeal breakfast for me this day. It was a treat really.

Young women from their youth group, I assume, were serving up a familiar fare of scrambled eggs and bacon. Sweet breads, juice and mixed fruit were there to round it out. It was great!

It was mostly an older crowd. I sit down and start eating. About that time Neal walks in. He missed the early service but not the breakfast.

F - Surprised?

PR - Amazed would be more like it. Not the first time on this trip but still --- .

Neal didn't recognize me at first with different clothes on until I said something. He and his wife sit down beside me. He says he should have thought to invite me to church. Not a problem I say.

Turns out he's also an airplane "nut." He tells me they have a small antique air show in St. Francis every year, old Stearman biplanes and others show up. We talk airplanes.

On the way out the door we have a conversation with the pastor's wife about why I'm riding. I begin talking about climate change, a mistake I think later.

Neal asks if I'm an Al Gore fan? I let that slide. The pastor's wife diplomatically says she doesn't talk politics, all are welcome here, Republican and Democrats. She agrees climate change is happening but the cause is the question.

F - Did you respond to that?

PR - No I didn't. Maybe I should have. I was on my way out the door. I've realized you need to tailor what you say to the audience. I thought later this was one where I should have begun with the inspiration first, not the action. The Way to Peace is the Way of Love - for all living things. I'm learning.

F - It's a challenge to wake people up?

PR - Very much. Some don't believe it's happening and others don't believe it's human caused. The negative vibes from talk radio doesn't help. People don't know what or whom to believe.

But there is a new consciousness arising, a growing awareness that all things are connected, that we can't keep doing what we're doing to the planet. I'm hopeful.

The "Universe" is on our side.

F - Your Easter Sunday was pretty special, sounds like.

PR - Way cool. I walked back to camp another way. The birds were singing! I hit the road after that. That's my story.

F - Later!

Don - Peace Rider