Photos: To Lincoln, Nebraska, and Blue Rapids, Kansas

On this day, we went to Lincoln, Nebraska, for Larry's dental appointment, then to Blue Rapids, Kansas, to get a set of wheels for one of Larry’s pickups. At 5:50 p.m. we went through Marysville, Kansas.

As we drove, we reminisced about the evening, almost 30 years ago, when we were at the Marysville City Park. Hester was about two months old, which made Joseph almost 4 ½, Teddy almost 6, Dorcas 7, Hannah 8, and Keith 9. We stopped in the parking lot so everyone could go to the restrooms, which were a little distance away across a gentle valley.

Keith leaped out and went running down the hill.

I called out of the vehicle window, “Slow down; you’ll fall!”

However, it was steeper than he’d expected, and before he’d gone 15 feet, the top half of his body was going faster than the bottom half. He stumbled along, going lickety-split, unable to slow down, unable to catch his balance – and then he reached the bottom of the hill, where it dropped suddenly into a shallow, narrow ravine, dry now, but where water ran after rains. He stepped into the little ditch, having never caught his balance, and landed stomach-first on the rise on the other side.

OOOOOF

Behind him dashed Hannah in an identical attitude, just as unable to slow down, just as unable to catch herself. Into the ravine she stepped, immediately landing on her stomach in the exact spot in the tall grass from which her brother had just extricated himself.

OOOOOF

She had barely clambered to her feet when Dorcas landed ker-SMACK in the very same stand of grass.

OOOOOF

Having nearly knocked the wind out of herself, it took her a few seconds to regroup and scramble back onto her feet.

Fortunately, Joseph had been left behind by his elder and faster siblings, so he didn’t plow right into her. Down the hill he came, faster and faster, laughing all the way. He tumbled into the ditch, ka-splatted onto the opposite bank, and rolled back into the ditch.

OOOOOF

He scrabbled about, unable to get to his feet for a bit on account of his giggling.
Gathering his wits, he hopped up and, following the others, ran on up the hill to the restrooms.

Meanwhile, Teddy had paused at the top of the hill near our vehicle, and was cackling in merry delight at his brothers’ and sisters’ plights. When the way was clear, he skipped down the hill, leaped the little ravine with the grace of a deer, and raced on up the other side without a pause.

That was Teddy.

Larry and I, sitting in the car with baby Hester, laughed ’til the tears ran down our faces.

Spilled cat