Springsteen in My Head

23 June 2011
Got about four hours sleep before jet lag had me awake at 3:00. I tossed and turned then got up to walk around Centralia, Missouri, just after dawn at about 5:30. It's a sleepy little working class town where the streets are lined with mature trees. I passed block after block of modest clapboard houses with lots of old pickup trucks in the driveways, scampering squirrels and an abundance of red breasted robins. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of "these are my people, these are my roots". There is nothing like a summer morning in the heart of small town Missouri and the Springsteen song seems to be on endless repeat in my head.

My mom picked me up from Sharon's at 8:00 to go visit my 82 year old father in the Veterans Home in Mexico. We arrived just in time for the Thursday bingo games. We spent the morning and lunch with Dad, catching up on old times and new ones.

Then we went to visit my aunt Dorothy, with a stop on the way to visit my sister Joyce's grave. The last time i was in the USA was for Joyce's funeral, it's nice to be back in a happier time, although we still miss her.

While at aunt Dorothy's place i was hit with the worst case of jet lag i've ever had and kept falling asleep in the middle of conversations. Mom mercifully took me back to Centralia and Sharon's so i could have a snooze without embarrassing myself.

The evening was spent playing games and catching up with Fred, Sharon and Katie.