We started the day with sunshine, then overcast sky, then rain to the point we pulled over with other cars to wait it out. Then a little later, the HAIL. Praises, we found an exit from the freeway where we joined other cars and 18 wheelers at and old gas station, under the roof over the bays for the missing gas pumps. We got the last spot. We were amazed that Ethel had no damage, because as our friend Marcie remarked, it did sound like we were inside a jiffy pop pan. Those puppies were up to two inches in diameter. Adventures abound.
Our goal was to make it here by 5:00 pm, as the Ernie Pyle Library closed at 6:00 pm until Tuesday morning. We rolled in around 4:30!
This has been on my bucket list for eons. The pictures of the library were posted yesterday, and here are a few more. The library is in his home, donated to the city back in the '40s.
For those who are in the younger set, you may never have heard of Ernie Pyle. I was introduced to him during my 8th grade history class, while studying WWII . Our teacher read the closing of "Here is Your War", to give us a realistic sense of what war was like in the trenches. I went home and told my Dad about this, and he said to look on the bookshelf for the book. I was fascinated.
Ernie was a correspondent and covered London during the Blitz, educating Americans about what the British were experiencing. He later volunteered to be a war correspondent in Africa and throughout Europe through VE Day.
Ernie was imbedded with the troops from the beginning, and wrote about the individual servicemen and women, telling the folks back home what they were going through on a personal level, including their names and home addresses. He was the soldier's representative and probably the most loved reporter ever.
Later he joined those fighting in the Pacific and was killed by a sniper just 3 weeks before VJ Day.
In the past, I have dragged my children to his grave at the Punchbowl Cemetery in Hawaii, and I have visited the museum in his childhood home in Dana, Indiana.
That completed, we had a delightful dinner with Kit and Larry Anderson. Kit and I are colleagues through NAPO. She took us site seeing today, and we had a a great time... From Zuni dancing to Old Town tour.
Off again tomorrow. Ethel is behaving beautifully, as we keep adding things to her trunk. After all, there are shops as we travel....
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