REFLECTIONS FROM MIDWEST MINI-TOUR, posted Sept. 2007

We left for the Midwest mini-tour on Thurday, Aug. 30, the day after Sheri’s birthday. We continue to be inefficient travelers. Between my poor planning, our gas mileage in the truck (8.4 mpg), and the kids’ tiny bladders, we are stopping about every 20 minutes. Except for during naptime, that is. When they sleep, the hammer is down!

Our first stop was for overnight with Mark and Shelley Gallant. Very nice folks who let us stay in their driveway of their very nice suburban home in New Concord, OH. I also got to see Tom and Megan Houston and their kids, Josh, Ben, and Hannah. Tom and Megan were in Youth Group together with me at Abington Presbyterian Church. It’s hard to describe the mix of emotions I feel when I think of that time. Some great highs and some tough lows. I guess that’s what life is when you put it all together. Anyway, Tom was the captain of my first Bible Quizzing team. We were the Bagels. Tom was an outstanding quizzer. I developed, too, to be our league champion for the first half of my senior year as captain of the Bagels. But Tom and I shared some good times, and it’s neat to see how we have both grown since then. He is the pastor of the College Drive Presbyterian Church.

Then we got up the next day and headed west to New Paris, OH. The theme continues…if you’ve never heard of a place, chances are that I’ve played there! We met our hosts, Mark and Gina Moore, who have been incredibly warm and welcoming to us. They live on a farm here. Mark and his brother farm 1500 acres. That is mind-boggling to me. I can barely keep my grass mowed! Mark is also an outstanding trumpet player who has subbed with many of the symphony orchestras in this area. Not that he’ll tell you about it. Mark is a very humble guy who would give you the shirt off his back. And Gina is likewise so kind and welcoming, we feel right at home.

I played a concert at the park in Greenville, OH. Attendance was low as it was a holiday weekend, but we had a good time. It was a great day weatherwise. The people who were there were very nice, and I got to play in an old band shell in the park that they still use for band concerts. It was pretty cool, and very effective for focusing the sound. I played my sax in warm ups and it sounded very strong. Stepping out of the shell and it sounded quiet. Amazing! Of course, using a modern sound system we scoff at natural acoustics! Ha! Physics, I mock you! Something funny about the concert…simultaneously in the park were the Ohio state championships of horseshoe throwing. I’m not kidding. So, in between songs you could hear a plethora of “clink…clink clink…clink” coming from across the park. These people are good. Every one of their throws goes “clink.” If I clink one in ten, I’m happy! The other performance I can think of that tops that in terms of neighboring noise was the time I played a set of dinner music at the very ritzy Hotel Hershey here in Hershey, PA. It’s the type of place that we wouldn’t ordinarily go because of the prices. People usually only go to the Hotel Hershey if they have reached a point in their financial life where they don’t even care about prices. Anyway, down the hill from the hotel is Hersheypark Stadium, and Lynyrd Skynyrd was playing. I finish playing, “How High The Moon,’ and they answer with “Sweet Home Alabama.” It was an experience.

The next day I played indoors at the Moore’s church. Pastor Jim Vandermark is the pastor of the Cedar Grove Church. He was kind enough to pray beforehand for the service, including my involvement in it. Unfortunately he prayed for “Donald” that he (that is to say, I) would be filled with the Spirit and sing well. We joked that as Saul changed to Paul and Abram changed to Abraham, now Derek is changing to Donald. So that’s my new name.

While staying with Mark and Gina we were treated to a cookout. I was in charge of the grill, which is funny if you know that I am vegetarian! They sent the vegetarian to cook their meat! Luckily for them I have not always been a vegetarian, and I remember how to grill. Besides, hot dogs are mostly raccoon and shoe leather, so what can you really do to those that would ruin them? ;-)

Splinters of death. While we visited some new friends Lin and Susan Kauffman, the kids did the ultimate boy thing, playing in a muddy water hole! They had a blast. Their boots became buckets as they carried mucky water to a hill and poured it down, creating a mudslide. This went on for a long time, until lunch. So, covered with muck, we came back to the house. After a brief hosedown, the kids proceeded to play on the deck. In doing so, Carter got about 8 splinters in his feet. Now, ordinarily, splinters are splinters and it’s no big deal. But after the mudbath, we began to worry about tetanus and whatever other microbial life forms that might have been teeming in the water. Thus began a stressful journey of trying to removes the splinters, which involved holding Carter down while he screamed and writhed for what seemed like twelve days, trying to find tetanus shots on the road, and being worried parents. It’s been a crazy time. We tried to let it go and trust God to care for Carter. And of course, He has.

Then we crossed the Cheddar Curtain and entered Wisconsin. For me it was the first time, and it was great!

County Road X. This is funny to me, maybe only me. But our WI hosts, Mark and Cathy, live on a road that is off County Road X. See, in Wisconsin, they label some roads with a single letter. That’s new to me, being from PA. But I think what’s really funny is just the fact that it’s Road X. Sounds like some sort of Twilight Zone road. Road X, where the cats bark, the dogs meow, and creepy kids in trances warn you in reversed speech to “beware the marmosets.” Road X, where anything can happen. Where rain falls up, day is night, and there are always storm clouds on the horizon. Road X, where all the world’s missing left socks spend eternity in a pile 10 miles high. But in reality, it’s just a road that goes by cornfields. That’s all. What a bummer! I could really use some of those socks I’ve lost over the years.

Mark and Cathy Manthei are great folks and it was a pleasure getting to know them. They treated us like family from the moment we met. Although, as Cathy would certainly point out, you don’t stick family out on the driveway! Cathy was mortified that we arrived in our camper, and parked it in her driveway. It wasn’t the camper being there that bothered her. It was knowing that we were out there when a good hostess would have had her guests warm and comfy inside the house. But after much convincing, she eventually saw and believed that we were actually very comfortable in our camper, and she accepted that it was by our choice that we were out there. After that it became a big joke about being out on her driveway like homeless people. And I should point out that, being from Wisconsin, they are Packers fans. And I am an Eagles fan. And on Sunday the Eagles played the stinkiest game ever, and wound up losing to the Packers, while I sat in the Mantheis’ basement, watching in horror. And they didn’t gloat or anything. Shame on me. I would have gloated.

After a one-day layover in New Paris with Mark and Gina, and another at a campground near Columbus, we are back with Mark and Shelley in New Concord. Are you noticing a theme? Mark and Shelly, Mark and Gina, Mark and Cathy. ALL OF OUR MALE HOSTS ARE NAMED MARK!!! What’s up with that? It undoubtedly has something to do with Road X! Road X, where everyone is named Mark, water flows uphill, and stuffed animals come to life when you’re not looking. Road X, where you pass the same hitchhiker with a pitchfork standing along the road every mile you drive. Road X, where Christian singers go insane and obsess about a truly boring stretch of highway in rural Wisconsin.

I should also mention that we have toured the cities of Chicago, Indianapolis, and Columbus. We are so blessed to be able to show our kids all these places! To be honest, I don’t know if we would have taken a trip to specifically see any one of them, but because of this trip we have been able to see all three, and had a fantastic time doing it. We’ve been in skyscrapers, children’s museums, coffee shops (what else is new?), the Air Force Museum in Dayton, and many wonderful blocks of city streets. I’m blown away! I can honestly say that you would have a great time in any one of these cities. There’s plenty to do. Email me if you want any suggestions.

We finished up the tour by playing at the SDA church in Mt. Vernon, OH, and Tom Houston’s (remember him from the beginning of this article?) church, College Drive Presbyterian, in New Concord. Both were very nice. At College Drive, I got to team up with Mark Gallant and play a sax solo with him on the piano. Playing with other humans is a treat for me, and playing with a sensitive, accomplished musician…well, that’s huge! It was very enjoyable. Mark makes a pretty mean ratatouille, too! Then I played a full concert back at the church on Sunday night. I thought it went well. AND, our awesome friends, Jay and Joann Cornelius and their kids, came to visit us for the day and hear the concert. They drove all the way from Akron on their only free day they’ve had in the last sixteen years. Okay, I exaggerated, but it was great to spend time with them. Do you have any friends where you only see each other once a year or so, but when you do you pick up right where you left off? No awkward ice-breaking to suffer through? Jay and Joann are like that. What a blessing!

So as we have reflected on this trip, we all agree that it has been one of the best for us in a long time. Great people we met, great places we saw, and the music went well. As we get back to real life now, we’re a little sad, but also excited to see what God has around the corner. Around the corner, as in a road. A road like Road X! Road X, where intrigue lies around every bend. Road X, where up is down, black is white, and pocket protectors are hip. Road X, where aliens know not to show up for any abducting, magnetic compasses don’t work, and killer gourd plants reach in the window to strangle you in your sleep (see below).

Guess I’m going to have to sleep with the light on. Good night, and thanks for reading!

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