To and from Mattoon

All right, so I lied. There won't be a longer post about the HHD later this week. The HHD were great, but I really don't think most people care about the specifics. If you're interested in my sermons or anything, ask and I'll email you. Instead, I'll share more about our trip. It's slowly sinking in that CA and the midwest aren't apples and oranges. They're more like apples and guavas.

- The freeways (highways?) criss-crossing Indiana and Illinois look very much the same. The part we saw was either very lush with trees and creeks, or was this:

Did you know that most of the corn grown here isn't for human consumption, but is either cattle feed or made into seemingly random things, like pantyhose or explosives?

- Not five minutes past the Ohio/Indiana state border was a huge billboard proclaiming that "Abortion stops a heartbeat." At least there was no picture of a fetus, only a flat EKG diagram. Then again, it's not Indiana but Ohio that has the 62-foot "touchdown Jesus." It's visible right off the freeway when you come to Cincinnati from Dayton. No lies.

Also known as "drowning Jesus," it cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and is in front of a megachurch. I won't comment on what Jesus might think of his statue in lieu of using the money to feed starving children...

- Another five minutes past the border is the biggest fireworks warehouse that I've ever seen. Though admittedly I haven't seen many, seeing as I come from a state where they're mostly illegal. Every Friday and Saturday night here I can see some through my window, the college frat houses the next block over go crazy.



- The motel in Mattoon, IL has both a Gideon Bible *and* a Book of Mormon in its nightstand tables. I was impressed.

- When we stopped at a gas station on Sunday night after break-the-fast before going back to the motel, some random guy stopped us at the door and asked, "do you know if they sell beer here?" I said no, I didn't know. As Jonathan and I walked away, the guy's friend noticed our all-white clothes and said "dude, I think they just got back from church!" I wonder what he thought of our kippot.

- I want to visit Amish country. There are Amish-style restaurants everywhere off the freeway, and I saw lots of ads for Amish furniture stores. I think we'll visit when Becca comes next month.

- I have never seen so many red barns in my life. Or so many tractors. Or so many horses. I also learned something new about the post office. When I asked a congregant what "R.R. 82" meant in her address, she replied, "rural road 82." Then she looked surprised that I hadn't heard of it. Sigh. I should really just start to guess these things.

- And last but not least, on the way back home I saw the big signs for the Creation museum in Kentucky. You think I can convince HUC to take us there as a field trip? :)