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I, Leonard, was born and raised in Manchester, Kansas and hadn't been to my home area for three years. Since it's a thirteen hour trip to Solomon, Kansas, more time was needed for traveling and visiting. My wife, Karen, likes to see her family once every two months on weekends and is fortunate. We stayed at my sister's house, visited my brother, and old time friends. It worked out nicely that Kristin had her spring break and Mark could skip four days of classes. I would like to see my side of the family more often, but it's hard to match Karen and the kids' schedules. She won't leave Mark, who is seventeen, home alone afraid he'll get into trouble.
I drove for the majority of the trip. Karen doesn't like to drive that much so she helped me navigate and kept me company. Kristin and Mark don't like my constant sixty mile an hour speed limit, but we weren't in a hurry. As we crossed the Kansas boarder, we noticed all the snow was melted, the temperature rose, and the wind picked up. It was so nice to get away from the cold Minnesota area. Being a mail carrier, I constantly deal with the weather.
As we started to approach Abilene, Kansas, I recognized antique cars. It's amazing how the old Chevys stay in such good condition here. I'm so used to seeing rusted cars from driving on the harsh winter roads in Minnesota. I also started seeing a lot of John Deere tractors either for sale or working in the fields. Karen says, "there's a tractor hoisted up on that billboard, but you're driving so keep your eyes on the road." Repairing and refinishing old John Deeres is my favorite hobby. I have eight tractors and usually have one sitting in the garage to work on. Last summer I fixed up a tractor and drove it in the Apple Fest Parade in LaCrescent. I also belong to a Two Cylinders Club and go to John Deere shows. I invited the club to my land in Yucatan to show off my display of tractors. In the past, I have made a couple of trips to buy and transport tractors from Kansas to Minnesota. Kristin or Mark would usually ride along to get out of school for a few days or were curious to travel to their once home area.
Darkness surrounded us by the time we got to my sister Katherine's house. She warmly greeted my family inside and fixed some cappuccino ice cream. My brother-in-law, Melvin, is quite a talker.
"How have ya been Leonard? How's the mail business?" Melvin would ask.
Melvin was also a mail carrier, but retired a few years back and is enjoying working on the farm and keeping up with the world news. I cannot wait for my retirement. Seven more years and then I'll be able to pursue my dream of traveling to Alaska and build a home in the country.
"How are the crops coming along? It looks pretty green here already. Mad cow disease has been in the news a lot lately. Has it been affecting cattle in this area?" I asked Melvin. We would talk for hours, while Karen and Katherine talked.
As we visited old neighbors and friends we used to work with, we also went to the Eisenhower museum and Russell Stover's factory in Abilene to entertain the kids. Russell's had tons of Valentine's Day chocolate at discounted prices and Easter candy on sale. Karen and the kids stocked up. I went for my favorite--the peanut butter and chocolate heart candies. Karen and I found out while visiting our old Kansas neighbor, that the leftover chocolate was given out free to farmers to feed their cattle. In the summer, the candy got to be really messy, but the cattle ate it.
Karen insisted on spending a day in Lindsborg and get shopping out of her system. Karen, Kristin, and Mark went shopping at the Swede stores while I visited my brother, Leroy. It's always good to see him. He never travels and we talk to each other twice a year over the phone about the crop prices. He takes care of my inherited crop land. We walked around the farm and he showed me all of his new toys like the tractors, antique car, gator (it's like a four wheeler), and the termite infested house. Leroy said, "I don't get much use out of the gator and would like to sell it." Agreeing with him, I know he has tons of toys he could get rid of. I always wondered what it would be like if I would have stayed in Kansas to farm. Leroy is staying busy with farm work and new outdoor projects. I really enjoy working on projects and would love to help him out. Karen picked me up sometime in the afternoon. Time flies by when you're having fun.
Another highlight of the trip was when the family went out to eat at the old Kirby House which was built in the 1800's and is now a restaurant. After eating we drove around the small town of Abilene. Karen and I recognized most of the houses like the babysitter's house and our friends' houses. As we drove, I kept my eye out for a fellow friend who I used to work with at the Abilene post office. Driving through the streets I looked on every street, and we tracked him down. I got out of the van and approached Brain. "Brain? It's been a long time since we last saw each other. Your still sticking with the post office I see." Brain responded "Lenny, what are you doing here? What a surprise to see you. How has life been treating you?" I hope I made his day. We went to high school together and hadn't seen each other since 1985. Sixteen years had past and we still recognized each other. I don't know what the chances were that I would actually run into Brain, but I exceeded the chances and talked with him for a short while. Kristin took a picture of us, and I'm excited to see the picture.
After visiting with two of my nieces, their children, Leroy, Katherine, high school friends, and neighbors, our five days of vacation had to come to an end. When leaving I never know when the next time I'll be able to visit with them again. Every time we go to Kansas, we drive passed our old home I built and see the changes the owners have done to the place. We also drive by the "mustard" house where Karen and I first lived while we were building. Recalling memories and creating new are always fun. I miss Kansas, but my home is in Minnesota.