I did a turn around trip the other day. No, not the Vegas turn arounds that dotted my youth. This day, it was a day trip to Peoria, IL from Des Moines, IA. It's about 280 miles from here. It was a beautiful day. I left before sunrise and was able to click this picture on my new Motorola Q phone from the driver's seat. Just another reward for executing my Geographic Arbitrage.
After a fruitful day of business, I headed back out on the open road. The air was clean, the temperature was mild, and life was good. I stopped at a Dairy Queen for a late lunch on the way back. DQ not only feeds my habit for banana malts...but it feeds Warren Buffett's pocket which in turn feeds the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
I was in Galesburg, IL which could just as easily been named, "Main Street USA". I sat down after ordering my meal and was followed in shortly by an elderly couple. They sat across from me as I played with my cell phone, still wearing my sun glasses. They must have thought I was a real city slicker. After a few moments, I put down my phone, put on my regular glasses, sat back, and marveled at this couple. He had a hearing aide and used a cane. She looked well put together for a woman obviously in her 70's. They chatted as they nibbled their frozen treats. After a while, she told her husband, "I'm a bit chilly and the air conditioning is blowing right on me." As if he had wings, the husband sprung up and went to the car to retrieve his wife's sweater. He didn't use the cane and he moved about twice as fast as he did when entering the building. He put it on her with the care of a mother swaddling her newborn. My heart was warm. They sat for a while as did I. I wanted to strike up a conversation with them but thought better of interrupting their moments together.
He loves her. She loves him. On this day, things were very right in Galesburg, IL. I felt a sense of contentment the rest of the way home that doesn't come in a pill or a bottle. It's a sense of love a man has for his wife, his family, what's happened in their life together...and what's yet to come.
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