August 14-31 2004

August 31, 2004

In case you thought I was kidding yesterday about the weeds around the teeter-totter, I wasn't.

August 30, 2004

It was painful yesterday to see my old school. It isn't a very old building--I think it was built in 1956. It still looks good from the outside, and peeking in the windows, I was surprised to find shiny waxed floors (although, no desks--they probably took the pink and green and blue topped individual desks off to Larned.)

The playground was grown over. Weeds popped up through cracks in the asphalt. (Yes, asphalt--and there are interesting stories about that.) You wouldn't be able to play on the teeter-totter without getting a weed rash.

The school has been empty now for a full year, the building sold to the city for a minimal amount.

I can't begin to describe the sadness I felt, combined with the wish that every kid in the world could have experienced a place like Pawnee Rock Grade School during the years I attended.

August 28, 2004

Another beautiful August day. I hate to see the month end. About 21 out of the past 28 days have been just dandy. After two hot days in the 90s, it was a bit chilly this morning at 8 a.m. at the Farmers Market.

Each July, Waverly celebrates Ohio Days. Many of the town's settlers came from Ohio, as reflected on this downtown mural. The festival is an important part of Waverly's tradition.

I took a drive today and stopped at Waverly in Coffey County. Cars were coming and going downtown--quite a bit of Saturday morning activity in this town of about 580 people.

Along the highways, ditches are green and brimming with wildflowers and tall grasses. Usually by now, the roadsides are brown and crispy, all the moisture sucked out of plants by an unforgiving sun.

August 26, 2004

I woke up this morning and thought, "I'm tired." It's been two months since we launched this Web site--my first Daily News entry was 6/25, I think.  We started the site so I'd have a Web presence for my writing--and it took off from there -- a mad sprint. We had no master plan.

Now, in these two months, with all the photo galleries, we have over 250 pages (not even counting what's on the Discussions Board). The columns that are posted were already written and a few of the photographs (Bruff's fire, kittens, etc.) we already had. Everything else has been photographed, cropped, indexed, resized, written, edited, laid out and revised since then.

Dave and I have driven around Kansas and we've put up photo pages for six towns and numerous events. I've stayed up late playing rowdy games of Kansas Trivia.

Bear, the cat, has claimed my computer chair as his favorite spot. I move him to the recliner (a much more comfortable seat) and he leaps back on the computer chair before I can turn around.

I guess that's a hint. I'm spending too much time staring into a computer screen.

So, now we'll not make a mad rush to add so much so fast on the Web site. I want to get back to my writing. Dave probably wants to play a little more disc golf.

August 21, 2004

	Driving around Emporia this morning, I noticed a huge yard sale at the home of Tom Haskett. Tom is one of our favorite people. He is happily retired and has recently become a member of The Learning Connection Board. And Tom has been putting in his community work service hours (no, not court-ordered community work service--it's part of the Master Gardner Program he completed.)

August 20, 2004

Another cool day. Sixty-nine degrees at noon. Yesterday afternoon was cold and wet, felt like October. People all over town are saying, "We're going to pay for this," and "We're going to have a bad winter."

Maybe we're not going to pay for this. Perhaps we did something good -- and a cool summer is our reward.

August 17, 2004

After about two weeks of not really needing the air conditioner, I turned it on again this morning.

We've had highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s. Ah, August in Kansas, a delightful time of year! My brother in Alaska reports warmer temperatures up there than what we've had this month.

NAME THAT TOWN - II This old shoe shop stands on Main Street in what Central Kansas town? (Hint: it's not Woodbine.) To answer, look here

August 14, 2004

It was a small-town kind of a day. Dave and I headed back to Woodbine for lunch at Brigitte's Country Cafe and for additional photos. On the trip we stopped at seven or eight other towns. We searched for Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts in a green pasture and walked across an old stone bridge. A resident let us know of an old stone church in the country we stopped to see the sanctuary of the 1871 building. Several warm and welcoming Kansans told us their stories.

We saw Kansas history in the long-abandoned brick businesses. At the boarded-up schools, we imagined children on the playgrounds and high school students hanging around after class. From the towns' residents, we heard a bit of wistfulness as they told how big the place used to be. But they also expressed appreciation for the sense of community that lingers -- the card games at the senior center, the gas station that is open in the evenings and weekends, the town festival that brings back former residents and visitors.

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