Today was another one of those days...I'd been "home" to see the folks this weekend, take in the Kansas Sampler Festival, and was headed back to the city this morning, when the wandering bug struck. Actually, it didn't just "strike". It had been fed by some random thoughts, generated by observations and conversations over the weekend. Caveat--it's always a little weird for me to go "home" as an adult after living away for quite a few years--people and places change, but, yet...they don't. I find myself trying to create a cohesive connection between what I thought things were and what they now seem to be, and end up a smidge confused sometimes.
Several cups of coffee this morning on the deck, watching the river and eating the rest of the bacon (thanks, Dad) was the straw that broke the "well, we always take 177 to Manhattan because we like the view" camel's back for me. I rarely take that route because it's longer (I know...this is me, queen of the detours. I'm worried about "longer"?) And then a statement (from Mom) like "the things that seem to work out best for you are those things you don't overthink" was rattling around in my head as I got in the car, and the rest is history.
So I briefly thought about that 177 route, and decided the beautiful day deserved some attention. Done. A conversation about intriguing places along that route (Pioneer Bluffs, specifically, which is closed on Sunday) had me thinking about alternatives. I'd been watching The Volland Store from afar for a few months, so I asked Google...and it turned out to be not far off the beaten path, it was open, AND a guest speaker was scheduled at 2:00pm. Double done, especially since the speaker was Steve Wolgast, Pulitzer prize winning journalist with a program entitled Free Speech in Times of Crisis. Right up my alley.
It was the perfect combo of new place/people/thoughts to re-ground me. Interesting people, ready for conversations about things that matter to them. A lovely rural setting with old buildings. An art installation...out. in. the. middle. of. nowhere. And a thought-provoking program that began with William Allen White, worked through the need for critical thinking, and ended with (and I paraphrase) "the constitutional amendments of free speech and free press will continue to endure as long as we continue to use them." Don't stop thinking, folks. And talking. Check out the full photo album here for my perspective.
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