Thursday, February 18, 2010

Travels

Paul and I are off on a trip that's part practical--a BMA ministers' convention in Ohio--and part romantic--four days in Savannah, Georgia, to celebrate our 25th anniversary.

In the Phoenix airport we had a true Mennonite Moment.

So we're sitting there and this family walks by, Mom, Dad, three boys. The mom had her hair up and a long skirt on, which always catches my eye, being the same myself. They sat beside us. I took in the details like a good Mennonite. . . hmmm, long skirt and hair up, but no head covering, and a wedding band but no other jewelry. Probably Pentecostal. Not Holiness. And probably not that strange group in the Midwest that doesn't give their own group a name so everyone else gives them awful nicknames--we always knew them as The Black Stockings.

So being a true daughter of my curious dad I leaned over and asked, if she doesn't mind my asking, what religious group is she with. And she said, "Mennonite."

Oh! I had mis-read the signs, terrible of me, but they turned out to be CMC, which I am not as familiar with the nuances of.

Actually, they're from Grantsville, Maryland. Larry and Kay B. The Menno-wheels began turning. Ida Marie Miller! Yes, they know Ida Marie. Then Paul thought of the most obvious connection: "Do you know Barb Smucker?" Light dawned in their eyes. That's why Paul looked so familiar! Of course! Barb goes to their church.

Many more happy connections followed. Larry is a brother to Bill whose wife is Dorcas who I have talked with a few times both real and electronic plus they're friends of Rosie's. And his dad lives in Minnesota and goes to Mom and Dad's church. And Kay's cousin is Orpha who is married to Uncle James.

What fun.

And there was one odd twist in the plot.

Years ago Kenneth the brother-in-law built a piano bench for Paul's mom and dad. We bought it and the piano when we got the house. Recently we decided to retire the bench and use a chair instead since it takes up too much room. We offered the bench to anyone in the family who wants it, and Barb said she'd take it.

But how to get it to her out there in Pennsylvania?

Paul's mom decided to have it mailed to Barb for her birthday. Paul said there has to be a less expensive way, but none of us came up with any. Then Paul offered to pack it as one of our luggage and have Barb pick it up when we arrived at the Pittsburgh airport. But Barb didn't want to drive that far for it.

So it was mailed.

Had we omnisciently known everything, we could have taken it with us, and Larry and Kay could have taken it with them, and given it to Barb at church on Sunday.

How bizarre is that?

Quote of the Day:
"Get ready for lots of snow!"
--about a dozen people, in the last week and en route, when I said we're going to Ohio. They were right. It reminds me of Montana after the blizzard that delayed Neil's funeral.

7 comments:

  1. I was reading through these connections a little distractedly and thinking "there are really a lot of Dorcases in my world--here's another one" when I realized that the one you were talking about is MY SISTER. No more distractedness in the recitations of connections.

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  2. That is so neat!! We have been following their trip on FB!! Very jealous that they were in warm AZ! Have a great time in Savannah! From the other Dorcas

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  3. South Georgia is experiencing some lovely weather this weekend. :) Too bad the azaleas aren't blooming yet!

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  4. Funny how easy it is to find connections :-) As missionaries we often meet folks from other missions and invariably find connections somewhere, somehow. That was the case in Africa, and it's the case here in South America too. Maybe because the missionary community isn't THAT large?

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  5. I love playing the Mennonite game -- but my generation is quickly losing out on much of it.

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  6. I have been reading our blog for a few months and you always manage to make me laugh! =) I love the mennonite game! Was suprised to hear all the names of people I know in this one. Ida Marie is my Aunt (so curious to know how you know her?), Grantsville is where I grew up, and I went to Chuch with Starla Berkey till she moved back to MT.

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  7. My family is from Grantsville MD, Bittinger MD and Accident MD all right down the road from each other. How neat it is to see how closely we are all intertwined in each other's lives.

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