Last week we boarded a motor coach and headed south to Branson, MO. With a loaded bus, we made good time and landed in Branson mid-afternoon of the second day to start taking in some shows. The package offered seven shows, and all were good. My two favorites were Daniel O'Donnell and M-M-Mel Tillis. Old Mel at 81 still sings well although band members sometimes filled in the high notes he couldn't hit or furnished words he'd forgotten. In ten more years I'll be in the same shape, I hope as good.
When you get to Missouri, you get to Civil War battlefield country. In St. Joseph on I-29, you cross under a street named Division Street. It really did divide something, the North from the South. Stories abound how families and friends, depending on what side of the line they were, might become shooting enemies in a battle.
Branson is filled with motor coaches from all over the country at this time of the year. Branson calls it their Christmas season and most of the shows have at least part of the performance oriented that way. Seven shows in three days goes by quickly and the time comes to return. We took a very interesting side trip to Diamond, Missouri. Near there is the birthplace of George Washington Carver. It is part of the National Park Service and is manned by park rangers.
Carver was born into slavery, but when freed he chose to find an education. Lucky for him, he was born sickly, therefore spared from hard physical work in the fields like most young men had to do. He chose to educate himself and had to walk far to find a school that would admit him to classes. He went on to be an agricultural scientist and found many uses for the humble peanut. That little fact freed the sharecroppers from the death grip that cotton held over them. A new crop opened some doors.
I'm ready to return to Branson next year. It doesn't matter which shows we see, they're all good.
...
A joke told on the bus: Ole was a good artist and was approached by a beautiful young lady who asked him, "Would you paint me in the nude?" Ole thought a bit and replied that he would have to ask Lena for her approval. Later he answered the girl saying he would. They met in his studio and Ole began taking his clothes off. When finished he stood there stripped except for his socks and said, "I have to leave them on so I have someplace to wipe my brushes."
Branson is filled with motor coaches from all over the country at this time of the year. Branson calls it their Christmas season and most of the shows have at least part of the performance oriented that way. Seven shows in three days goes by quickly and the time comes to return. We took a very interesting side trip to Diamond, Missouri. Near there is the birthplace of George Washington Carver. It is part of the National Park Service and is manned by park rangers.
Carver was born into slavery, but when freed he chose to find an education. Lucky for him, he was born sickly, therefore spared from hard physical work in the fields like most young men had to do. He chose to educate himself and had to walk far to find a school that would admit him to classes. He went on to be an agricultural scientist and found many uses for the humble peanut. That little fact freed the sharecroppers from the death grip that cotton held over them. A new crop opened some doors.
I'm ready to return to Branson next year. It doesn't matter which shows we see, they're all good.
...
A joke told on the bus: Ole was a good artist and was approached by a beautiful young lady who asked him, "Would you paint me in the nude?" Ole thought a bit and replied that he would have to ask Lena for her approval. Later he answered the girl saying he would. They met in his studio and Ole began taking his clothes off. When finished he stood there stripped except for his socks and said, "I have to leave them on so I have someplace to wipe my brushes."
