After church on Sunday, March 13th, Genie and I left by car headed down I-35 for Harrison, Arkansas. Just south of Clear Lake, IA, we were past the snow, ice on the water and into what looked like spring. We saw robins, blackbirds, geese, red-tail hawks, a gray fox, vultures, black angus cows, lots of deer laying down, and about six horse-drawn, slow-moving vehicles with the occupants dressed in their black going- to-church Sunday outfits.
We stayed at the Comfort Inn of Marshall, MO on Sunday night. Much to our surprise, winter was there to greet us Monday morning, as there was about six inches of wet snow during the night. After 75 miles south and lots of vehicles in the ditch, we were back to spring conditions.
We arrived in Harrison Monday p.m. on time to enjoy fresh bread, home made soup and coconut cake with Frank and Sandy Meng. An interesting thing about Frank is even though it says “Made in China” on the bottom of his right foot, he is really a displaced Norwegian from Iowa. Sandy is also from Iowa, where her and Genie grew up together to be great ladies. (Lucky Frank, lucky me.)
They showed us a very interesting church outreach ministry. The First Baptist Church of Harrison made the decision to have an outreach ministry. The result is a building with an inside walking track, plus a fitness area open to all Monday through Friday. Seeing is believing as it is most impressive.
We stayed four nights at the Quality Inn in Harrison. St. Patrick’s Day morning Genie observed a young man in his pajamas with bare feet, carrying a refrigerator and putting it in the trailer behind his truck. Genie thought this was rather odd at 7 a.m., seeing as how the refrigerator was identical to the one in our room. The net result was one young man didn’t get to wear any green, as he got an orange outfit to wear while in the slammer.
We left Harrison early Friday morning back to Albert Lea. An interesting thing we noticed was most of the deer we saw laying down going south were still laying down in the same spot as we went north.
Many of you readers are aware of the “blue” building as a landmark on the Bath Road between Beaver Lake and Albert Lea. Genie and I are now staying in the “golden yellow” landmark building in Albert Lea because of a kitchen fire in our house on St. Patrick’s Day. Brad Combs, our godson, was doing some handyman work when the fire started. He mananged to put the fire out, thus saving our house. Thanks, Brad.
We have three employee guardian angels here at the “golden yellow” building motel. Tracy, Theresa and Chelsea are so great, as they even fed us pizza the first Sunday night at the motel!
Hopefully, I’m done with the “Uffda” stomp ‘til next December. For you non-Norwegians, that is when you stomp your feet three times upon entering a building to get the snow off your boots as you say “Uffda.”
Trivia — Gas was $3.239 per gallon in Missouri on Friday, March 18th. Lots of meadowlarks in Missouri. Snow geese follow open water as they migrate north.
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. This is the Hanson’s 35th summer at Beaver Lake. They leave the lake in mid-October to go south — to Albert Lea — and return in April. Bob says if you enjoy his article, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of Wisdom: There is always room for God.