Thanksgiving Part II

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I know we did. My parents left yesterday, headed for home with a brief visit to our old hometown, Martinsville Indiana. We lived there for about five years I think. This was around the time I entered middle school and my first year of high school. Dad likes to visit Martinsville and I think the folks have been there a few times since we left. Dad tells me our old house has fallen on some hard times but the cornfeild across the street is still there. I guess there isn't a big rush on developement in rural Indiana, which makes me happy. I would love to get back to Martinsville myself someday. I actually visited one year while I was still in high school and hung out with my old friend Paul. If Martinsville has a downside it's probably the fact that it's the most racist town in the US. I remember a cross burning on the lawn of one of Dad's co-workers who happened to be Indian or Pakistani (can't remember which). I remember just a few years ago reading a headline of a small article in Sports Illustrated. The article title was something about a small Indiana town's high school basketball team being suspended from play in their league because of an incident involvong an all black team from Indianapolis. I remember thinking right away it was probably Martinsville, and of course it was (otherwise what would have been the point of this antedote).

Enough about racist little Hoosier towns. Thanksgiving was a treat this year. Like I mentioned in the last post I made dinner. It was low stress, I made it in a crock pot! You really can't get any lower stress than that. We got up and took a ride up the Illinois side of the Mississippi river to Alton Illinois. It was an interesting little town that used to hold a Federal prison during the civil war. I think we all enjoyed that a lot. Friday we went to the main street of St Charles, which was packed because of all the Christmas shopping and festivities going on. It was like a Yankee Doodle Christmas.

The folks are gone and I miss them but I'm glad they made itout for a visit before we leave St Charles.