DEJA VU...

 Not long after my husband and I got married, we went on a Caribbean cruise with a group Louis's sister and her husband organized.  We had a good time in spite of the fact I really am not a water/beach person.  I dutifully laid out on the beach, went jet skiing, and acted the part when we were on the shore excursions.  But truthfully, the parts I liked the best were shopping in the local markets.

On one of those shore excursions, Louis insisted on buying me some real diamond studs.  I liked the fake diamond earrings I had been wearing.  Besides these studs were quite a bit smaller--practically no more than a shiny dot on my ear lobe.  But they were REAL, so I didn't put up a fuss.

I had been wearing them literally for years, day and night, never taking them out of my ear lobes except to clean them, when United scheduled me for a layover in Las Vegas.  The shower in the hotel we stayed at was part of the bathtub assembly.  Not uncommon for most hotels.  But that particular morning as I was showering, I noticed a piece of lint on the bottom of the tub.  So, I just moved it with my big toe over to the drain and continued on with my shower.

Imagine my surprise and shock when I got out of the shower and glanced into the mirror only to find that the stud in my left earlobe was missing!  Suddenly, I knew exactly what that "piece of lint" had been.  I was so mad at myself.  Of course, I went straight to the drain to see if I could salvage the earring.  Nope!  It was gone.

When I got home from my trip assignment, I went shopping for a new pair of studs.  Wow!  Real diamonds were costly.  Even little bitty ones in ear studs.  So, I went to Kohl's.  They just happened to have some Cubic Zirconia studs on sale for half price.  And I just happened to have a 30% off coupon.  And I just happened to have some Kohl's cash.  Thankfully, Kohl's allows their shoppers to apply ALL coupons and discounts onto the same purchase.  I walked out of the store with a nice pair of fake diamond studs for $43.  Here's the plus....they were also bigger and the size I liked better than the real ones I had worn for years.

There was something about those earrings that caught the passengers' attention--all the time.  Men even.  Not just the women passengers would complement them.  To their delight, I always told a brief version of the story--moved a piece of lint to the drain in the bathtub on a layover in Las Vegas only to discover it was my earring.  Not going to spend a lot of money anymore for real diamonds that could get lost, so went to Kohl's and paid $43 after applying all the discounts for fake diamond ear studs.  Cubic Zirconia ones.  Everyone got a kick out of my sad tale of woe and the happy ending.

More years rolled by.  You can bet I was careful EVERY time I took a shower, though, to make sure the earrings stayed in my ears.  Wasn't going to have that same experience I did in Las Vegas.

A few weeks ago, though, I noticed the left stud was almost out of my earlobe when I looked in the mirror after I got out of the shower.  Whew!  That was close!  I made darn sure I tightened the back securely.  Sometime later when I got out of the shower and looked in the mirror the left earring was missing again!  I looked all over the shower floor, did an inch-by-inch scrutiny of the bathroom floor--and found the stud!  (The back was still bored into the back of my earlobe!)  The loops on the terry cloth towel must have caught the stud and pulled it out.

Now I was ever more vigilant!  Every day in the shower I would check my ears to make sure nothing was missing.  When I got out of the shower, I wasn't as vigorous when I toweled my hair dry.  And I made another adjustment every time to make sure the earring back was securely holding the stud in place.  All was well....

Then one day last week, I saw a little piece of lint on the shower floor.  I pushed it with my big toe to the drain and went on showering.  I even wondered if it was some lint from Louis' towel, as he had showered first.  

Just as I was ready to get out of the shower and pulled my towel down, I heard a little rock hit the floor of the shower.  "Now where did that come from?  When I took my towel off the rack, did it dislodge something on the decorative flower wreath on the wall just above it?"   So, I pushed IT with my big toe to the drain and got out of the shower.  A mystery....

...until I looked into the mirror.  NOTHING IN MY LEFT EARLOBE!!!!!  I had done it again in spite of cautious diligence on my part. Deliberately pushed my earring down the drain!  How could I have been so careless?  AGAIN!!  I was so mad at myself!

It just so happened I had a 30% off coupon from Kohl's, and I hoped they had some Cubic Zirconia studs on sale because I was on my way to the store as soon as I got ready for the day.

No jewelry department at Kohl's anymore.  I knew they had put all that SEPHORA makeup stuff in their stores during recent remodeling.  But I had paid no attention to the fact that took the place of the jewelry section--costume and the real thing.  Maybe they had moved the jewelry to a different part of the store.  I spent 10 minutes wandering up and down the aisles, looking in every department before I saw this itty-bitty little glass case full of Ray Ban Sunglasses and a few pieces of jewelry.  

I looked around for someone to help me and noticed the sign that I was supposed to take a picture of that QR code thingy and help would be on the way.  Fortunately, Louis had just taught me the day before how to DO that QR thingy.  So, I clicked on it, filled out my name and indicated on the proper box I wanted someone to help me with the jewelry, not the sunglasses.  Then I waited.  And waited.  And waited some more before I went to the cash stations and said I had done my part, now could someone meet me at that dead-end little counter and show me what was in the glass case?  The young man said he would go find someone.  Five minutes later the same young man came back with a key and said he would help me.

There were very few selections on display--some pieces with real diamonds and a couple of Cubic Zirconia items.  Amazingly everything was 60% off!  Okay.  Things were looking up.  Only HIS version of "help" differed quite a bit from MY version of help. I said I was looking for a pair of Cubic Zirconia studs that were just a little bit bigger than the ones featured in the case.  Could he check to see if there were any others?  He unlocked the drawer and opened it.  There were dozens of boxes, yet he said they didn't have any.  Could you open a couple and see if there are other sizes?  No.  Kohl's was closing out all of their jewelry stock and that's all they had left.  But could you look?  No. There is only one size.  Do you think they might have these online?  Perhaps.  But Kohl's is getting rid of all their jewelry stock.  Okay.  How long is this 60% off sale going on?  Not sure.  I think I could find out.  THAT took a whole five minutes while he fiddled with his handheld device and finally announced it was valid until the 17th.  Good, I won't have to run right home and get online now because I have some other stuff to take care of before I can sit at the computer and spend time checking out Kohl's website.

I left Kohl's, went grocery shopping, did the other errands, and headed home.  Later, while I was thinking about this whole episode in the shower and at the store, I remembered that I had purchased some look-alike diamond studs from an Avon rep that went to my Curves facility.  I started rooting around in my own jewelry box and found them.  Not at all what I wanted.  Why had I even purchased them?  I did find a set that looked like the blossom of a flower.  A little bigger than I wanted and also in sterling silver.  I wanted gold.  Oh, the price tag was still on them.  Bought THEM at Kohl's quite some time ago, so long I don't even remember, on clearance for $10.   Too bad they didn't fit the bill for me.  I looked through more stuff and found a little gold box with some Cubic Zirconia studs, a little bigger than the one I lost.  I have no idea where or when I purchased them.  Looked like a department store tag.  Original price--$250.00.  I KNOW I didn't pay that kind of money for them.  But whatever----I had a new pair of earrings!  I put them on and haven't taken them off since.  Only as yet no one has complimented me about them.  Probably best not to let anyone know I am a dork!  Enough said!  

Deja vu!  

Following the Yellow Brick Road

Doesn't really look like this in Kansas--SHOCKER!

I recently had lunch with my former neighbor and friend Cathy Callahan.  She told me that she had decided to drive to Kansas last summer to see her son and family at Fort Riley rather than fly.  Not particularly keen on driving alone, one of her friends agreed to make the road trip with her.  On their way they stopped in Concordia, Kansas, at the Orphan Train Museum. Cathy told me all about the visit and said it was worth the detour to her son's home.

I had read a couple of novels about kids who had gone West on trains to live with foster families.  Those stories had impressed and intrigued me with the whole concept that over a period of time from 1854 to 1929, an estimated 250,000 children were relocated to rural areas of the United States from crowded Eastern cities.

The annual summer closing at the Fort Collins Temple began on August 15th. That meant  neither Louis nor I was scheduled for our shift at the Temple during that time.  Me on the following two Wednesdays and Louis on the following two Saturdays.  

I toyed with the idea of following a yellow brick road of my own during some of that free time.

The first thing I did was look up how many miles it was to Concordia, Kansas, from our home in Johnstown, Colorado.  Then I asked Louis how long he thought it would take me to drive there.  The inevitable question was posed by him..."Why do you want to drive to Kansas?"  So, I told him about Cathy's experience, my own interest, and the temple was going to be closed for two weeks.  All of that shouted "Adventure!"  I wanted to go.  Not surprisingly, Louis asked if he could tag along.

Of course!  That was the whole idea.  Louis likes to drive.  Louis likes road trips.  I was pretty sure he would want to jump into the car for this one--and I would be able to leave all the details to a professional driver while I sat back and enjoyed the ride.  Pretty sneaky, huh!

Thus, we began to plan.  Louis suggested we each come up with a list of other attractions we might want to see during a four-day trip to Kansas and back.  A few days later, we pooled our finds and mapped out an itinerary that looked like it would be fun AND interesting.

We set out bright and early Monday morning August 15th about 6 am with an ETA of 3 pm in Concordia.  But...with all the stops along the way including lunch, gas, browsing at a brand-new travel store on I-70, the world's largest ball of twine, and a huge roadside picture of Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting, it didn't look like we were going to make it by then.  

Plus, we had also stopped at one of Louis' choices on the list.  It was the national historical site of Nicodemus, a preservation of the only all-black western town during the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War.

Though it is now nearly deserted, Nicodemus is symbolic of the pioneer spirit of those black individuals who left regions east of the Mississippi they had been familiar with to seek personal freedom and the opportunity to develop their talents and capabilities as homesteaders.  Handbills distributed in Kentucky and surrounding areas encouraged black people to come west where they could support themselves and make a living primarily through farming their own land.   

The initial stake was from $1-$5, and then the Homesteader had to "prove up" in order to keep the land.  Unfortunately, the railroads, which were expected to bring the revenue needed to support a western settlement like this one, were built north and south of there.  And the town dwindled from about 700 people in the late 1800's to nearly nothing in the following years.

The Historic Site was attractive, educational, and had a great gift shop (always at the top of MY list for tourist stops).  We learned a lot in the museum, and then we drove through what is left of the town to see other buildings that were once prominent.  The town, which  blended into the landscape of the Great Plains of Kansas, was dusty and HOT!  I was glad to get into the air-conditioned car for our last leg that day to Concordia.

And it was 103 degrees when we finally got there about 6 pm!  Way too hot for me! The car was dusty from the country roads, so Louis decided it would be a good idea to wash off the dirt.  Lo and behold, it began to rain while we were actually in the car wash stall.  I suggested we just stay there until the rain stopped, figured it wouldn't be long but a short shower just like at home.  Nah...Louis said he didn't care. He was hungry and wanted to find a place to eat.

When we got out of the restaurant, the air was fresh and it felt so much better than it had just an hour or so before.  Good sleeping weather.  We were tired and called it a day.

The next morning when we got up, however, it was COLD!  Only in the 60's.  The whole town was abuzz about the weather...it was such a relief for them, they were glad.  I wasn't too happy about it being chilly.  I had only packed short sleeve shirts and short-legged pants.  Nothing in the suitcase was warm enough.  

First order of business was to go downtown.  Only one main street, but I had seen a couple of stores on our jaunt to the hotel.  Sixth Street Fashions and Footwear was a spacious shop with lovely clothes on the high end.  Kind of like Chico's and White House.  When I asked what was up the lovely curved staircase to the second floor, the clerk told me "seasonal and clearance".  Aha!  My kind of shopping.  Found two very cute tops with longer sleeves on sale for a combined price less than one blouse on the main floor.  Paid for them and asked if I could use the dressing room to put the warmer one on right there.  Sure.  The clerks had sympathized with my plight and then complimented me on the top I had chosen because it even matched my pants.  

Walked out of that store and into a thrift store right next door where I found a casual jacket in a leopard print, which zipped up front and had an elastic waist, for $5.  I was set for the day!

Next stop was the whole reason we went--the Orphan Train Museum where we spent the next three hours.  I was at once overcome but uplifted and spent most of the time near tears with the emotion brought about by this gigantic welfare project as related in personal histories and testimonials.  

The orphan train movement was started by the Children's Aid Society which recognized the inadequacy of New York's welfare institutions, and at the same time, saw the Western states as places full of opportunity.  Charles Loring Brace of this organization devised a system whereby disadvantaged children would be sent to rural communities, traveling by train and with a Society Agent, where they could be taken in by families who would teach them good morals and provide for their needs.  

The stories about people helping children in need were remarkable!  And yes, there were some not so good outcomes such as sponsors taking kids just because they wanted someone to do their farm work and then did not treat the children like they would their own family.  Some children came with siblings and were separated from each other.  But the majority of cases had positive influences on children who needed help.  The negative complaints also helped in that these situations were used to instruct social services clearly to adopt better policies that continue to influence and guide the foster care system today.

Placed all around Concordia are 46 statues (currently, more are added frequently) which are dedicated to Orphan Train riders and their stories which are placarded as part of the statue.  (Like the one below.)  We didn't take the time to find all of them, but the ones we saw added to the whole Orphan Train Museum experience.

One of the statues in Concordia

The museum and statues were definitely worth the trip.  The next day we went to a WWII POW camp which also recounted some very uplifting experiences of those enemy soldiers who were incarcerated there.  Those young men also became part of the community and some even came back years later because of the humane treatment they received.

We went to Salina, drove up to Hebron,Nebraska, stopped at Hays, Colby, and Goodland all of which were on my list--antique stores!  Found a couple of worthy items for my Nativity collection.  (Not that I need ANYTHING more!)  But still, it was fun to poke around and see lots of Kansas homestead stuff belonging to people who had lived their lives on those Great Plains.

In all, it was a top-notch get-away.  Our own little "yellow brick road" with some fun and worthwhile adventures.  I whole-heartedly give it an enthusiastic THUMBS UP!

But....we DIDN'T see the Wizard!