The Bucket List – 2

Mount Rushmore! WOW!. As we walked up a lot of stairs in Mount Rushmore National Park, I looked up to see, George Washington! Then his 3 companions appear next to him. Carved out of granite, the 4 presidents govern over the Black Hills. The carving of Washington is amazing and very clear. The others are more rugged. I don’t think Washington wanted to govern… He was a general like Eisenhower. “Let me move people to win,” he might have said… And so today, let us all look up to George Washington and let us be inspired to win, and to prosper. We aren’t going to shut down… but we aren’t winning either. Let us love with wisdom! Let us love one another.

After we saw Mount Rushmore we drove to Crazy Horse. It isn’t finished as only one man carved for many years, and now the foundation he set up at the behest of the Native people, will not let the Federal Government help. Crazy Horse is all carved by the people of America. It’s taking a while… but it’s American people working on it. If only we spent so much fervor on our cities. Clean up the streets. Rebuild the burned buildings. Fill the churches. Take care of the babies and young women who think they can’t take care of babies. God touch us with wisdom to help others.

We have finished the bucket list items! Next on the schedule was to visit two friends whom we have known (all her life Rebecca Skipp) and Kyla Gehm (a dear friend whom we exchanged houses with in Clear Lake Iowa and Big Pine Key.) Kyla helped Chuck get over his confusion about his head injury by describing her own head injury and listening to him describe his fears and confusion. In their weakness, they helped each other. This year, Kyla is alone having lost her husband a few years ago. She cares for her daughter and her mother, and I hoped to see her and bask in her beautiful courage! BUT… we are going home.I started coughing a little on this trip. I remember I coughed some in Tucson in air conditioned rooms… Lately, in the wind of the monuments where the temperature was down in the low 40s, I coughed a lot. It finally hit with a vengence this last Friday… I coughed all day until Chuck looked at me with a little tilt to his head and said, “do I have to take you to the emergency room?” “NO!” I said, “I’ll be OK.” Well I do sound a little like I did when I went into the hospital with pneumonia in Kingman, Arizona. That night, as I lay uncomfortably coughing, I said, “I want to go home. OH NO!!!!” Many people said I wouldn’t last 4 months! I’m tired out, but we have seen so much. So I turned to Chuck, and I said, “You won’t like this, but I want to go home.” “OK!” said Chuck. Just that. It’s frightening to get sick. We don’t want it, but, as much as we try to be healthy, our bodies have some irregularities, some weaknesses, that are going to get us. So we are going home. I can see the Finget Lakes of New York another time… We will drive gently and look out at America. We will be inspired by the Great Missouri River and the Great Mississippi River as we cross over from West to East. I’ll be back home early! I’ll be able to help the Garden Club and the church ladies as soon as the coughing stops! All is well. Let us now turn and work on our government. Let us be kind to one another. Be sure you are registered to vote. Get out there and say what you want. Let your politicians know if you want Ukraine supported. Pray. Ask God to help us. Love this our country and love our neighbor. God bless us.