A brief encounter

A Brief Encounter

Before I tell you about the men I met in the breakfast room, first I have to make a record of the room we stayed in.  We've been staying at Best Westerns so that we could eventually earn a free room.  Well, we hit the jackpot Wednesday night.  The hotel was full, but because we had a reservation they upgraded us so that they could sell our room for more.  We walked in to a suite - full kitchen and living room.  At first I couldn't find the bedroom.  It was huge, with a walk-in closet and big bathroom. BUT Dee was in another bedroom with an even bigger walk-in closet.  When he checked out the next day, the man at the counter explained that this room was used for long-stay customer, but since it was empty they just put us there.  Too bad we were just sleeping. And it was our free room.  Now we start over. 

At breakfast two older men were sitting next to the window behind us and making exclamations over the sky.  Being out on the plains, I was concerned.  "What are you looking at," I asked?

"At how fast those clouds are moving.  We're on motorcycles and are watching the weather."

We started chatting.  They are semi-retired farmers from Michigan and were full of interesting facts.  They told me that the Amish are running out of room for farms for their children so they are moving out of Pennsylvania and Ohio and buying up farms further west.  One Amish farmer has set up a steam run factory, making siding. 

I told them that we were headed for Nauvoo, which of course they'd never heard of.  I invited them to motorcylce down the Mississippi and check it out. Then the more talkative man said he had a friend who was a Mormon and had told him a lot about the church.  He said, "I'm still thinking about it."  I told them to have a safe trip and went to finish my breakfast.  As we were all leaving he stopped me and said, "I just want to tell you something. I've been married 56 years, and one thing I like about the church is that they believe I can be married to my wife after this life."  "Eternal marriage," I said.  "Yeah, that exactly. I just wanted to tell you that."  I hope they will come to Nauvoo.