Aloha! I have just a
minute or two to write you before lunch and let you know how awesome your boys
are doing. At the moment, we are just
passing through Council Bluffs/Omaha, Iowa on Interstate 29. There is a little Rest Area on the south side
of the city that we are going to have lunch at, assuming the intermittent showers
we have seen the past hour hold-off.
From the sounds of things, you folks back home had quite the excitement
last night with the thunderstorms. We
have elected to withhold some of that information from the boys so they don’t
worry too much, but if they find out it’s probably not the end of the world.
We woke the boys up at 7:15 so they had plenty of time to
get their things packed and ready before breakfast. After room checks, I only found 1 left behind
item, which was very good. The boys packed the bus and we then walked over to
breakfast at the student center. It was
a delicious spread they put together for the boys, complete with pancakes, sausage,
fruit and yogurt parfaits, eggs, and a number of other items. Our host at the college continued to talk
about the compliments he had been hearing since the concert. A lot of the residents of the monastery and
the college were very appreciative of the boys’ efforts and were talking about
contacting friends along the route so they could take-in the concert as well.
We picked-up our bag lunches from the kitchen and boarded
the bus for Kansas City. While on the
road, our Officer of the Day (Sam Strub) gave us his daily report, including
the schedule for the day, weather report, “Word of the Day”, and some words of
wisdom to help make our trip a little more enjoyable. All of the boys turned a letter into our
mailman, Dillon, and now we are looking for a mailbox to drop them in.
Then Aaron decided to hog the mic and gave a great guided
tour of Sioux City, Iowa. While we were
going around the “Washington Monument”, which was actually an obelisk in memory
of Sgt. Floyd from the Lewis and Clark expedition, our navigator (Aaron J.
Carpenter) that had his back to the road, decided to be derelict in his duties
and missed a turn until it was too late to merge into that lane.
“WELCOME TO NEBRASKA”, the sign read as we crossed the
Missouri river. This was an unplanned venture
into Nebraska, which allowed an opportunity to read the state facts and hear
the state song in the spirit of “Merlin Brando”, the son of Nebraska native
Marlon Brando. We caught the first exit,
swung around and ended-up adding 6 minutes to the journey, but the memory of
the state song will stay in some of their minds forever.
Back on the trial, we busted-out the BINGO cards for the
first games of the year. Shawn, Tim, and
Camden won the three games. Many boys
were over-awed by the incredible announcing of the numbers. The rest of the time was spent in “Code Green”
with the games of their choice. A game
of “War” broke-out with the playing cards Camden won during BINGO. Naturally, Camden won that game as well. I think there have probably been actual wars
throughout history that were quieter and less dramatic than this one was. Aaron called it “the longest game of war I
have ever played”.
Now we are at the rest stop and my stomach is letting me
know it is time to go eat. Keep writing
those letters!
-P.J.
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