SMALL TOWN BLISS

Small Town Bliss...My spot in the City Park...Ahhhhh

 

Down the street...very clean sweet community

 

One Fire Vehicle

 

Two...

 

Three...

 

Four...

 

Five...

 

The Champion Softball Team

 

The Lutheran Church

 

The Catholic Church

 

The St. Francis Convent

 

Vannie's Abandoned Art

 

Waiting for that special person

 

 

Fargo

 

Hankinson, ND…Population  about 1000…3 Churches (2 Lutheran, 1 Catholic)… 1 grocery store… 1 fire station… 3 bars (amazing how that number coincides with the number of churches)… 1 grain elevator (I have decided they are in every small town in middle America)…train tracks…1 bakery…1 city park …1 dairy bar (always hoppin’) …1 small motel/café…and one very large convent... Small Town Bliss!

Hankinson is one of those sleepy little towns where you half way expect Andy, Aunt Bee, and Opie to appear around the corner any minute.  I loved staying two nights in my hookups in the City Park.  It was very relaxing after our busy week at the International Rally.  The only sounds I could hear were the squeaking of the swings in the park as the kids would swing back and forth…back and forth.  Remember those sounds…Small Town Bliss!

Those sounds were blasted out of the ballpark one afternoon.  Every fire vehicle in Hankinson was blaring their sirens.  Vannie and Dave rushed outside half expecting to see the whole town ablaze.  Well, here they came.  One fire truck after another…sirens screaming…then at the end of the line was a truck full of high school softball players…they were celebrating being state champs…  Small Town Bliss!

Sunday morning V and D attended church at one of the Lutheran Churches.  It had beautiful stained glass windows and friendly people.  When they shook hands with the pastor on the way out, he gave them a beautiful glass cup as a thank you for coming.  Monday morning they headed for mass at the Catholic Church.  Guess they were trying to cover all their bases.  LOL  Upon arriving, they could not find the location of the mass.  It was probably in some small chapel, so they just sat in the big sanctuary and soaked in the beauty…Small Town Bliss!

One afternoon, Vannie decided to visit the convent.  It was a Provincial Motherhouse for the Franciscan Sisters.  There were about 30 Sisters that lived there full time.  Vannie loved exploring the gift shop and visiting with several of the nuns.  After leaving, she had a brainstorm.  Vannie belongs to a Facebook site called Art Abandonment.  Artists find peace and joy in secretly abandoning a piece of their original art.  She knew what she had to do.  She was going to paint something special for the convent and abandon it on their doorsteps.  And guess what she painted…a pair of white tennis shoes.  I don’t think I would have every thought of that for a convent.  She painted designs and words that she thought would be fitting for the location.  Then she walked back down and left them on their doorsteps with a note about the “Art Abandonment” plan.  Of course, all of this was anonymous.  She told me that she has visions of a sweet little nun wearing her painted shoes to the shower or just in her room.  A song comes to my mind…”Make someone happy, Just make one someone happy, And you will be happy, too”…Small Town Bliss!

V and D did take a side trip to Fargo, ND.  They visited a wonderful art museum, Rourke Art Gallery Museum.  The temporary exhibit called “Signed.Sealed.Delivered.” was fantastic.  Vannie was so excited about seeing the permanent collection which included a Rochenberg,  a Miro, a Warhol, a Lichtenstein, and a Dali…pretty neat for a little museum in North Dakota .

Bye, Bye, Hankinson…Might not ever see you again…
But some great memories of …Small Town Bliss