We stayed at a hotel last night. There are three reasons for this. First, we got in late at night and didn’t want to find a campsite. Second, there was a dust storm that made it hard to breathe. Third, a severe thunder storm and tornado watch followed the dust storm, and while fewer mouths to feed would be cheaper, we thought it prudent to preserve the lives of our children. After all, they do 4/6ths of the tasks in setting up and packing away camp. It’s a lot of work to do this without them. The car would be much quieter, and the trip much cheaper, though…hmmmm…there will be other severe storms to reconsider this decision.
North Platte is CUTE. Like sticky cute cute. The cutest part is that they are not even trying. Today was a continuation of their summer car festival, and they took this festival very seriously. I was marveling in how adorable their little Main Street was when Kiara piped up, “Our Cruising Grand has way better cars than these!”
Well, this is true. Popi said, “We have a lot more people where we live, and so more cars to choose from.”
Here’s the thing. We DO have way better cars. Everything in California is bigger and better. If it is not, we figure out a way to make it bigger and better. Because bigger and better is, well, better, isn’t it? Everything we do is aimed at living better within our means, enduring crazy poverty because we have bigger and better weather, getting out kids to do bigger and better things, etcetera (because that’s a bigger and better word than the abbreviation). We were all kind of quiet for a second.
It began to hit me. “I think we are very used to bigger and better, Kiara, and the problem is that when we say ‘better,’ we don’t mean ‘better.’ Instead, we mean something like ‘more self-serving,’ or ‘more pride building,’ or ‘more greedy.’ I think we all fall into that trap in California, even if we value NOT bigger and better. Even we are used to bigger and better, and want it despite our struggle against it. That is why we are moving, so that our souls can heal from and grow beyond these types of vices, and you and I are going to have a hard time at first being content with exactly what is around us. We are going to have to help each other find the amazingness in exactly what is around us at the moment. Will you help me with this?”
“Sure! I’ll do that!”
It’s nice that they are on board. We’ve got to get out of California, and fast.
There is so much space here. Even the “touched” farm land feels untouched. You feel it deep in your chest. It is all pure and singing and green. This is what brings us back here again and again. The people who ask us why we want to live in this kind of land are generally people who have not been here. If they have been here, they have not breathed it into their cells and filled their eyes with it.
There’s also places like this: Big John. We stopped here for lunch and found a bit of perfect Midwest.
The waitress took her time and hung out with us. She sat at our table with us it what could have been taken as a very awkward way. She really needed joy at that moment. There’s an old belief that one finds friendship around the table, and it was only natural that this person would sit with us. Judah told her some jokes, she seemed to genuinely like them. She noticed the tiny Lego set The kids found at the gas station. She was lonely and sad and having a terrible day until she heard a few jokes about “Why should you never take a shower? Because it’s wrong to steal.” Or there’s this one, “What do you call an alligator who is a detective? An investigator.” Such tiny things can cause others to have joy. Well, Kiara declared that she is the “best waitress we’ve ever had,” and the waitress said that she was having a horrible day until she met us, so I’d say our lunch was a success. The food wasn’t particularly good, the cook was grumpy, but the communion with souls was worth every penny.
Well, we left our friend to her work, a smile on her face, and she left us to our trip, smiles on our faces.
Have I mentioned that everything is so wet and green here?
The moment we crossed into South Dakota, all eyes and ears were wide opened. This is the land we came to see. This is where we are most likely to move in the next year or so. It is beautiful.
The road took us past Sioux City, and on up to Brookings. In my research, I liked the look of Brookings, and it seems to be small and vibrant, but without the ostentatious and overt aim at progress that some other cities tend to have. It is a college town and an agricultural town, and that is that. Maybe we will find that it is really a terrible place, or that it’s too dull for a lively family. But this is where our search begins.
Our campsite is in a city park, in a nice, shady, grass field, next to a slow little creek. There are clean bathrooms and showers, and a really great playground next to an enormous playing field. This is a kid’s dream come true, and we get to stay right in the middle of it. Notice the serious look of a kid who has found a fat toad, as well as the face of a kid who knows he is now in fireworks freedom land.
If you see Unks, make sure you tell him “happy late birthday!”
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