America: Celebrating 250 Years

Last evening, we went to Sterling Community Theatre's production of the musical, Come From Away. It tells the true story of how the people in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, opened their homes and community to strangers when American airspace closed during the 9/11 attacks. Ultimately, 38 international planes carrying 6,579 passengers and crew were diverted to an old air base in Gander.

The airline passengers were from all over the world, speaking different languages and practicing different religions. But local residents opened their homes, schools, churches, community buildings and hearts to thousands of travelers they had never met. While the musical acknowledges some misunderstandings when the various cultures collide, the overriding message celebrates how ordinary people can find common ground and care for one another with hospitality, compassion, and human connection during difficult times. 

 

Photo from the Theatre Kansas Facebook page

 

I'd never seen the musical, but I read the book on which it was based, The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland, by Jim DeFede. The Sterling Theatre Troupe is chock full of talented singers and actors. The musical has a 12-member cast who portray more than 150 characters. There aren't elaborate sets. Only a few chairs and tables are shifted to create the illusion of being inside an airplane, at a local pub or finding shelter at a school gym. (If you're near Sterling, there are still two opportunities to see the musical at Sterling High School: 7:30 Friday, July 3, and at 2 PM on Sunday, July 5. There is no July 4th performance. Tickets are available at the door.) The production also includes a talented nine-member band that almost made you believe you were in a pub in Newfoundland with their whistles, mandolins, fiddles, accordion and more.

 

The musical's central message is this: Despite our differences, we are all connected. And isn't that a good message to remember as we celebrate our nation's 250th birthday?

 

Display along Highway 50 in Stafford, KS

 

It may be hard to remember that, if we're only relying on news programs or scrolling through our social media feeds with the plethora of contrasting opinions and points of view ... and the viotrol that often accompanies those sources. 

 

This morning, I picked up a little book that has been decorating my mantle from Flag Day to the 4th of July. It was one of the "treasures" from my Grandma and Grandpa Neelly's house. It's called We Love America: Simple Stores of American Living. The back cover says it is part of the Patriot's Series. I don't remember my Grandma reading this particular book to us, but I loved the illustrations so I brought it home anyway. 

The book's copyright is "MCMXLI." I'll save you a Google search. That's 1941.

On the inside cover, it says: Janis Neelly from Your Sunday School Teacher. It's Grandma Neelly's handwriting, so it was really to my mom from her mom masquerading as her Sunday School teacher. (We moms are always wearing multiple hats, aren't we?)

It had been awhile since I'd looked inside. But this morning, I picked it up and looked through it. 

The book "visits" different children and tells about their homes - everything from the "big city" to an "Indian pueblo." I've shared a few of the pages on the blog before.

 

Some of those children live on a farm: I couldn't help but contrast the hay found in the book with some photos I took a couple of weeks ago in a neighbor's hay field.

  

I liked the patriotic wrap against a dramatic sky.

 

But, back to the book. Other American children live on a ranch:

It's not surprising that the farm and ranch pages appealed to me. But this time, I noticed some other pages. In one, three little boys watch a parade. But they don't all look the same. 

  

  

"They do not all have the same ways. But they all like parades." 

 

The same is true for three little girls at a circus:

 

"Do you know something? American girls do not all look the same. They do not all have the same ways. But they all like to go to the circus."

 

A little boy discovers he can go to school, even though he doesn't have any money. 

 

Sammie learns that American libraries are free. 
 

One of the pages reminded me of the message of Come From Away: "It's fun to be friendly, wherever you go."

 

Perhaps those are messages worth remembering as we celebrate our 250th birthday. May we - like those Newfoundlanders - find common ground in our differences and respond with compassion and understanding.

 

Happy Independence Day weekend everyone!
 

Catch and Release

"Who hears the rippling of rivers will not utterly despair of anything."

-- Henry David Thoreau 

I often see inspirational posts, touting the healing powers of the ocean. And while I would never dispute the beauty and majesty of the seashore, it's little more than a pipe dream for someone who spends most of their time in land-locked Kansas.

While it may not be as mighty or awe-inspiring as the crash of waves along a rocky shore or the ebb and flow of water racing toward a sandy beach, a trip to a favorite fishing spot along the Ninnescah River also provides that calming sound of moving water. (Be sure to have the sound on as you watch the video.)

For weeks, our home along the Stafford/Reno County Line had been in a slash of red on a map right in the middle of Kansas. That red signified an area of extreme drought. 

But last week, 5 inches of rain improved our drought status here. And Randy was anxious to visit the Ninnescah pasture for a fishing trip.

The Johnson pasture along the Ninnescah has long been a "summer vacation spot" for our mama cows and their calves. On that summer evening, the cattle were grazing in another part of the pasture. They might have been missing out on the beauty, but it was there for the taking for a couple of interlopers in a Gator. 

Randy is the fisherman. I'm more along for the ride and the natural beauty. I may hold a fishing pole for awhile, but I'm usually more interested in holding the pages open on my book, competing with inopportune page turning from the Kansas wind.

And let's be honest: Randy does the hard work on these expeditions. He gathers the supplies and equips the Gator and baits the hook. I guess he finds the companionship worth it? Or maybe I'm there to be the cheerleader? Or official photographer to prove his mighty fisherman status?

That night was a "catch and release" night. He weighed the catfish, reported its 3-pound heft and then tossed it back in the water. 

I'm also content to wander around and find the splashes of color provided by the wildflowers.

There were yellow cone flowers.

The lavender of the wooly verbena is always a favorite for this K-State fan.

And the purple poppy mallow almost mimicked a rose. (I personally think they should be called pink or magenta poppy mallow, but nobody asked me.)

But the "music" of the evening was provided by the river as it tumbled over the dam and crashed into the rocks below.

The frothiness looked like suds on top of an ice-cold soda pop, which might have made the humid June evening a little more tolerable.

When Randy first felt a tug on his line, the froth covered up the "prize" until he reeled it in. It wasn't a catfish. It was a turtle, which he unhooked and sent on its way.

After a precarious slide down to the water's edge when he caught the catfish, I am adding another tool in Randy's fishing arsenal. I ordered a fishing net with an expandable handle. It will go right along with the retractable/expandable golf tool I bought him a few years ago for Christmas that he uses to retrieve balls from underneath trees or in water hazards.

 

While the water is great and all, taking an unexpected swim isn't in the plans - even if it might have felt good on a warm June night.

 

Making Memories: Part II

  

Omaha has been the destination this month for the NCAA Men's College World Series. And while we've watched some of the baseball series on ESPN, we definitely avoided those dates when planning our trip to Omaha with Kinley and Brooke. 

Our third day took us first to the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge.  

Affectionately known as "Bob," this 3,000-foot-long, S-curved cable-stayed bridge spans the Missouri River, connecting Omaha, Nebraska, to Council Bluffs, Iowa. 

 

It's not like the girls needed to check off a trip to Iowa. 

 

After all, their other grandparents lived there until recently. 

But Grandpa Randy loves rivers. 

Often, he's driving as we cross bridges, so this gave him ample time to gawk without danger of bodily harm to him or any passengers.

Our next destination was visible from the bridge. 

 

It was just a short walk down the riverfront.

The Luminarium was new to Randy and me, too. It had been added to the Omaha landscape since our last visit. It's an 82,000-square-foot interactive science museum. Opened in 2023, it features more than 125 hands-on exhibits designed to explore the intersections of science, art, and human perception.

 

We all loved it. It ranked right up there with the zoo's aquarium among our top spots in Omaha.  

It's hands-on, like this station where Brooke made waves.

 There were the typical activities you'd expect at a science museum ...

 Chain reaction ...

... Gravity ...

 

... And the value - or not - of teamwork.

 But it also makes you think about things like the economy in the U.S. ... 

... Growing your money ...

 ... Building a thriving society ...

... and even thinking about how individuals react differently.

 

Kinley contemplated a name change ... and why. (Brooke did it, too, but then it wouldn't come up on the screen.)

 

Kinley and I tried to match our faces to create a whole new face.

 

My favorite was a station on water drop photography. 

 

 Brooke liked making the robots dance.

 

Grandpa liked finding living things when he examined soil. (Imagine that ...)

 

And Kinley liked a You Wear It Well exhibit, where she got to “try on” outfits by projecting different clothing styles onto her body. It was a reminder that our clothing is one way we message who we are in the world. 

 

We made bubbles and watched them dance with a little air movement ... but not too much!
 

We sat across the room from one another and were able to hear what the other person was saying. 
 

The "whisper chairs" (or whispering dishes) demonstrate the physics of sound waves by letting you have a perfectly clear conversation with someone located far across the room. When you whisper into the dish, it focuses and directs your voice across the room in a concentrated beam, allowing a person sitting inside the receiving dish to hear you clearly despite the distance. It was mind boggling!

 

 

 

All of us would highly recommend this stop if you're in Omaha.  

 

 

What's a trip to the "big city" if you don't do a little shopping ... especially if you're with a teen and pre-teen? We spent part of the afternoon at Westroads Mall. (There is no photographic evidence, but there are shopping receipts to prove our presence.)

We left the next morning to take the girls home, so that we could turn around and go back to Kearney, Nebraska, for a church conference. And it was worth every mile to spend a few days with the girls.