Adrian to Bicycle Museum to Louisville to Colorado

I met Rosemary for breakfast. We had a nice chat and then got one of the nuns to take our picture. I really enjoyed my visit, almost like going on retreat.

I got on the road, and stopped in New Bremen Ohio, the home of the Crown fork lift truck company. The owner of the company has been collecting bicycles, and started a very nice museum. The town is very tidy also, with many of the old buildings fixed up and used for company offices. Some of the bikes were those that I remembered from my youth. Perhaps the one that hit closest to home was the 1967 Schwinn Town and Country tricycle. The summer that I worked in the Reynolds Aluminum plant, I rode a tricycle just like that, same color, as well as fixing them. I had a lot of hours on and around those bikes that summer.

The other bike pictures were the Hopalong Cassidy bike and costume, and an army bike with rifle.

I stopped at my mom's house in Louisville to install an updated life safety alarm for my mother. Unfortunately, the new box did not solve the problem, so I made arrangements to have a new phone jack installed and move the box to a more central location.

I turned in my rental car at the Louisville airport, arriving in plenty of time to catch my flight back to Colorado.

Richard

A Tranquil Day in Adrian

I met Rosemary for breakfast. After Breakfast, we went to mass, a very nice mass, but with one unique feature that threw me at first. I had to hear it a few times before I figured out what was going on. Wherever the usual mass would say "He", they would substitute "God". Rosemary said that they used "inclusive language", which I think is codewords for gender-neutral talk. For example, the usual sign of the cross is "In the name of the father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit", they said "In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier".

After mass, we went to visit the INAI Studio, where two sisters design and redesign churces and other sacred spaces. The studio had models, photos, and slides of their work. Beautiful work, very simple, elegant, and modern. Unfortunately, the sisters were not available, I would have enjoyed talking to them.

The photo shows how Rosemary is using her cane now. ;-)

After lunch, we went to the art building of Sienna Heights University, where we saw an interesting exhibit of photos of Paris and New York, by two different photographers.

It has been very quiet and relaxing here, especially after a somewhat stressful visit with my mother. A nice break, I think. Everyone was very happy to see me and meet me, they love Rosemary. She has been a nun since 1943, a very long time.

Before dinner, we went to their weekly prayer service for peace in the chapel. A nice service. Their belief is that peace has to start inside yourself, that if you are not at peace in your own soul, there will not be peace in the world. There were two nuns there from Iraq, refugees from that war-torn region, which made the prayer for peace a little more poignant and pointed.

Rosemary and I ate dinner, and agreed to have breakfast tomorrow before I start my drive south.

Richard

Across the Heartland of America

I got up early, said goodbye to Mater, and got on the road to Michigan. The sun was shining through Kentucky, which was just as beautiful as I remembered. My route had me going south to north across Ohio on I-75, through Cincinnati, Dayton, and Toledo.


Listening to the public radio, there was an interview with a professor who studies Midwestern culture. (No, that is not an oxymoron). He likes to look at the Midwesterners based on the stories that they tell about themselves. As someone who was born in the Midwest, and lived many years in and around the Midwest, this was of special interest to me. He noted that the geographic boundaries of the Midwest vary depending on who is talking, and indicated that the heartland of America and the Midwest mean about the same thing. The Midwest really does feel different, lots of the towns feel older than most towns in the West.

After listening to that program, I searched across the AM band, and kept hearing Rush Limbaugh. I then went back and counted, and from that location, I could hear Rush up and down the band, on a total of eight frequencies. I guess that Ohio must really be the heartland of America. ;-)


As I got close to Adrian, I passed through the town of Blissfield. I was somewhat disappointed that the town name did not refer to a state of bliss, but to a Mr. Bliss. I made good time, arriving in Adrian Michigan around 2 PM. Sister Rosemary came down to the lobby to meet me. She was walking with a cane, but seemed like herself, and looked better than I had expected, given that she was at death's door for much of the last year. She is kind of an outpatient at the nun's nursing home, and hoping to get back into her apartment before the end of the year. Everybody talked to Rosemary, and many marveling that it was a miracle that she was doing so well.

Rosemary and I chatted for the rest of the afternoon, and then she gave me a small tour of the complex. After dinner, she headed back to the nursing home to get her bandages changed, and to rest. Tomorrow I will meet her for breakfast, and then we will visit the art studio as well as attend mass.

Richard

Last Day in Louisville

I got up and walked to mass at the church which I used to attend when I was a boy.

Mater and I went to lunch again at Captain's quarters, where the photo was taken. Mater and Pater often ate at Captains quarters, and Mater still goes there a couple of times a month. A nice view and nice waitresses. We later went to dinner at a restaurant near the house.

I spent much of the day working on lights, but I finally got things the way we wanted it. I finished off my work by cleaning the tub. ;-)

I definitely plan to come out and visit my mother more often, I think that she needs the help.

Tomorrow I head up to Adrian Michigan to visit my aunt Rosemary.

Richard

Day 3 in Louisville

Today we drove around and looked for lights. Mater is particular, so it took a while to find something acceptable.

We had lunch at Bob Evans restaurant, a favorite of Mater's.

I went down to the Jazz Factory club to see a Brazilian band, including two people from Brazil and two from Ohio. The Brazilian drummer was excellent, and it was nice to get out.

Driving home I took surface streets, and was almost surprised at how much Louisville has not changed in the last 35 years or so. Lots of old buildings still in use.

Richard

Day 2 in Louisville

Today we continued to work on chores, including bills. Lots of paper to go through, throw away, and file.


We went to Captain's quarters for a late lunch. It was a beautiful fall day, with the sun on the river.

Richard

Louisville – Day 1

The leaves are changing, and they look beautiful. If you look very close in the picture, you can see my mom's house, on the left side of the picture hidden behind a sea of vegetation.

I started the day with a visit to Home Depot, to let me get started on some of the projects. I took a midday nap, and then we went out to Rumba Cubana for lunch. The food was different, good, and plentiful, so we took some home in a box.

I did chores in the afternoon while waiting for the lawyer, ranging from dropping off Mater's car for an oil change to replacing smoke detectors

We had a very good and productive discussion with the lawyer, and agreed on what needed to be done.

Richard

Boulder to Louisville

This trip has Richard visiting his mother in Louisville Kentucky and his aunt in Adrian Michigan. Marianne is staying home.

The last couple of days have been a bit crazy, with my car breaking down on the way to the repair shop, and our hot water heater starting to fail. Marianne is having to deal with both of these problems. She reports that my car is now driving very well, which is great.


I took a bus to Denver International Airport, DIA, easy enough, checked a bag, ate lunch, and sat down to do a little blogging. The picture is of some of the art at DIA.

Routine flight to Louisville, pick up rent-a-car.

Richard and his mother talked til late, and worked on a list of chores or projects that needed to be done.

Richard