Kelly’s friend also named Kelly came over late before bedtime and entertained us with his rendition of a couple songs from local comedian-artist Tymba Wulff. He was headed over to a house party or something where this guy was singing, but it was just too late for me. He was a live wire himself and surely going with him would have resulted in staying up until sunrise, but I had a mission to get home so I crashed on the couch around 2:30 after sharing favorite bands with my hostess Kelly.

In the late morning I took off and had brunch at Kaldi’s–a delicious wheat bagel sandwich and Mayan Mocha coffee–before hitting the road westward. I wanted to take some back roads, so I ventured through some places like New Franklin, Rocheport, Arrow Rock and Malta Bend. I lingered a bit in Arrow Rock and had an Italian soda and bought some candles at a gift shop. It’s a cute town that I would have liked to have lingered in a bit more, but I had to keep moving. It was Grand Pass–population 44–that kept me occupied for about an hour. But it wasn’t anything touristic. I didn’t see that clear beer bottle in the road, and soon I was on my knees changing a tire. A farmer stopped to help kick the tire loose once I finally got the lugnuts off, and soon I was on my way along the back road hoping to find something open on a Sunday in rural Missouri.

In Levasy, I found an oil station where a few guys were hanging out behind a desk inside. They all agreed that most things would be closed, but a Wal-Mart in Blue Springs would be my best bet and one of them drew me a map to get there. It was actually easy to find and within an hour of arriving, I had a new tire and was off once again. I must have driven 60 miles or more on the donut tire.

Delayed almost two hours, I crossed the Kansas state line at about 5:15. As I proceeded westward, I saw the graying skies. But it wasn’t until I was within seven miles of my destination that the storm hit, and hit with a vengeance. I thought I might need some ruby slippers to click on that last segment. The rain was coming down harder than I’ve ever seen it. In fact, I learned later that they closed the highway so I must have been one of the last vehicles on the road. But I made it and the rain let up just enough that I could run inside the house before it came lashing down again all night.

When I woke up this morning, it was probably in the 50s. So much for spring–again! I had a great visit with my cousin Kitty and her daughter Megan and son Jacob and my Aunt Joan. We had lunch at Froggy’s in Saint Marys and then visited and looked at pictures all afternoon. Now it’s evening and almost time for Heroes. The most amazing thing is that I’m able to connect to wi-fi right here in my parents’ living room. Modern technology has finally come to Palmer Street!