Millheim Mural / Thrillsome Threesome Plus One

A while ago, my husband and I had been invited to attend my grand-niece Rio's third birthday party, which would occur in the Selinsgrove area on this day. We had not seen family in a while, and we planned to attend. 

There is also a new baby, born in September: a little boy named Ozzy, whom I had not yet held in my arms. The forecast was calling for rain and storms throughout most of the day, which sounded ominous, but it did not deter us from our plans.

My big sister Marilyn called about a week ago to check in. She's in assisted living in Millmont now, dealing with Parkinson's and other challenges; she currently resides in the dementia ward. 

I told her we'd plan to come visit her after Rio's party, on the way home. She was delighted to learn this news. (Since then, Marilyn had called my little sister Julie several times, asking WHEN she would be coming to visit; Marilyn did not remember that it was ME she had talked to.)

So we had a full day ahead of us when we set out just before 10 in the morning. There was time for a quick McDonald's breakfast stop; also a really speedy 15-minute break at the Hairy John Voneida picnic area (read the story about the famous hermit here) just off route 45. The light was gorgeous there, and I marveled that we were traveling under the sun instead of rain.

We got turned around a bit near the end and had to go back and try again. For the roads in that area are not like the roads here. Here, you can just take another road and it'll probably eventually join with the one you wanted. Over there, the next road just doesn't do that. You just can't seem to GET there from here. Our trip that Mapquest indicated was an hour and a half turned into nearly two hours instead.

But we made it, and we did so without rain! We enjoyed snacks and gift time and play time and visiting time. I got to see my older brother Robin and my little sister Julie and several other family members for the first time in months. 

We, the thrillsome threesome or three musketeers (or Mom & Dad's "second family," as we often called ourselves), were back together again! Plus one: I had Ozzy in my arms! See extra photo for a couple of big smiles.

And then my husband and I got in our car and drove back the way we'd just come. We got to spend an hour with Marilyn, and since the weather was so nice (it was warm, and sunny off and on, and still hadn't rained), the three of us got to sit on a patio and talk, talk, talk.

Marilyn said that she hears Dad's voice sometimes at night, clear as a bell. What does he say? I asked her. She couldn't remember the words. I asked her, How did it make you feel? She started to tear up: really, really good. I said, "He has reached out to comfort you." I told her that sometimes, especially in very challenging or stressful times, I also hear his voice: "Walk a pole, run a pole, Doll Baby."

At the party, Minnie and Mickey Mouse had been the theme. We were all given mouse ears to wear, and I had brought Marilyn a set of mouse ears and a cupcake, which she enjoyed immensely, especially the icing. We took some photos, took comfort in each other, talked about family, spoke their names.

It was hard to leave her, but eventually, we had to, and so we got back in the car and headed for home. As we drove through Millheim, we got the town's one red stoplight. In the three seconds I was there, I shot the photo above, of a town mural on the side of the Elk Creek Cafe, made by local artist Elody Gyekis. The words along the top say: "Pride in the Past, Love of Place, Hope for the Future." Here is a description from a Facebook posting about it:

"Designed and created by Elody Gyekis, a PSU Schreyers Honor Student and Penns Valley High School graduate, this masterpiece is more than just a piece of art. It is about community. Elody incorporated the ideas of many people who came to town meetings to make the design, which eventually evolved into a quilt hanging on a laundry line displaying the many icons of Penns Valley. Elody then took photos of the icons and used a computer program that helped her to create a huge 30' by 16' paint-by-number project. Elody mixed the paints, opened a studio, and scores of very willing volunteers came to paint. The mural was actually painted on paper thin fabric inside the studio, which was cut into 5' x 5' panels. The panels allowed the project to be mobile, a great asset to the local Senior Center and other community events since it enabled many to participate that otherwise may not have been able. Once all the panels were painted, Elody and a crew hung the panels on a brick wall of a building that is at "the" intersection of our downtown business district. With a little touch up and a process kind of like découpage (my word, not the actual process), the mural was affixed, ready to please many for decades to come. The end product, as you can see, is amazing!"

And then it began to rain. We had about a half-hour of rain just before arriving home. I don't know what's in store for tomorrow, for tomorrow is not promised. But we had a pretty GOOD day, today.

I've got two photos, and an extra story down below. And guess what: they all get songs! First, for all of the neat things I saw in my travels, here are the Traveling Wilbury's (for today was a travel day, for sure), with Handle with Care. For my photo of the three musketeers, or the thrillsome threesome, in the extras (plus one!), I've got Sting, Rod Stewart, and Bryan Adams, with All for Love. And for the final story, which appears below, I've got Fleetwood Mac, with Dreams.

And now for one last bonus story: The Dream
Warning: T. Tiger in peril!!!!!
I fell asleep between 7 and 8 a.m., and had one last vivid dream, as I sometimes do. I was above a cliff, and T. Tiger was with me, and he fell! And he bounced down the cliff and far away from me, lost in the trees below. I watched and watched but I could not see him. I tried to see where he had landed, so I could go find him down below. Then things got vague. In my dream, I couldn't remember if I'd looked for him, or found him. Was he still missing? Was he back again? And then suddenly, it was 7:30, and my mother opened the bedroom door where I was sleeping, and she smiled a big smile at me, and she placed T. Tiger on the bed beside me. My MOTHER rescued my TIGER in my dream!!!! She was not the older version of herself that she was in the end, but her younger, middle-aged self, strong and young and capable, as she was most of the time I knew her. And then I woke up, for real. I told my little sister about seeing our sweet mama in this dream, and about how Mom had been the hero who rescued my missing Tiger. Julie said, with her own great big smile, "You reached out to her, and she reached back."

Bonus link: another story about another trip in that same direction. That time, I had THREE transporters! And boy, did we turn THAT one into a grand adventure!