Greene Co. Farm Bureau

Carrollton, 2016

Nice Intro… Obituary. . . Roger Ebert Last time. . Taking stress out…must have worked . . you look relaxed. I grew up on a farm.. . Pike County. My 95-year-old dad still putters around on his John Deere 4020. We’ve tried hiding the keys. . .he hot-wires it. Joined 4-H, took cattle to the fair. . more like a rodeo. I loved living on farm. . but the only reason I went to college. . .bucking bales and cutting hogs.

In 1979 one of my students came to me. . . “Would you take me to Europe?” A sophomore girl, detasseled, etc..Susan … had to see Europe. 1 of 6 kids. Since then, hundreds… Triopia, Pittsfield, Jacksonville, Carrollton, White Hall 37 years. . I thought I’d learn something about the world and I did, but the main thing I learned was the difference in traveling with city kids and those from rural areas like Greene County.

Robert Benchley: IN AMERICA THERE ARE TWO CLASSES OF TRAVEL: FIRST CLASS AND WITH CHILDREN.

I’ve learned one thing about travel: be prepared for a shock. London Hotel…14 girls.. “Girls knocked up” One guarantee traveling with students. . .things will never go as planned. Juneau, Alaska . . . scuba diving

John Steinbeck: A JOURNEY IS LIKE MARRIAGE. THE CERTAIN WAY TO BE WRONG IS TO THINK YOU CONTROL IT. 200 kids from New York and my 20 from Central Illinois. . . Spain. ---Beth K & Susan...Bullfight

Mark Twain: I HAVE FOUND THAT THERE AIN’T NO SURER WAY TO FIND OUT WHETHER YOU LIKE PEOPLE OR HATE THEM THAN TO TRAVEL WITH THEM.

---Beardstown Ladies...King’s Cross...Sydney Australia. The rest of our group was from Atlanta. My group was from Central Illinois.

---MUST BE SENSITIVE TO PARENTS....Tahiti, Jeremy, Paul Gogan Maroa

Flying isn’t the joy it used to be. I wear suspenders…metal clips…hands in the air. “Mr. Bradbury, your pants are falling off.”

…Airline rules

the larger you are, the further you will be seated from the aisle
If you are tired and need to sleep, the baby with nasal congestion will be seated directly behind you.
the travelers with no interest in scenery will get the window seats
they will have nothing but baked chicken by the time they get to you.

...Air Italia...cockpit window. But I had kids from Central Illinois.

---Worst airline ever: Aeoflat..Aro-flop..landed three times each time. ……Champaign Dave...getting out of Soviet Union. --Last Trip: Ireland … Continental… Cleveland.. Taxis to hotel. Me: van… We never travel without Christ.

CUSTOMS: ..Unisex Toilets...concentration ..French Bidet...Rick: Sock washer...wet pantlegs ..Jodi and Susan...bathtubs.

TRULY UNFORGETABLE MOMENTS: ..Ladies in rags waiting for hours to take communion in Soviet Union. ( I think of them every time our church cancels because of snow.) …The Whales in Alaska ..Ireland...Preacher Frank from West Virginia clearing out a bar for church.. Amazing Grace ..Assisi... Two olive-skinned ladies on tour --Craig, Lucerne, Richard, communion

....FINALLY: The story I never tell if any future travelers in the audience. Part of it was printed in USA TODAY last year..Paris-Madrid train.

The schools in Carrollton and North Greene and Roodhouse spend a great deal of their time testing kids. That’s how politicians get elected. . . they say they’re improving education by demanding more tests while not providing the funding to get this done. But none of these tests measure what counts most. . CHARACTER. The kind of character. . . earning your own money, driving a tractor, running yourself to death between school and ball practice and church activities. .

I’ve found that one of the best tests of character is to put a young person in a strange and unfamiliar place and see how they do. In nearly all cases they will revert to, “What would Mom and Dad or Grandpa and Grandma do?” . . . and in those cases, despite what Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton or Ted Cruz say is happening to our nation, I’d say that we’re in pretty good shape.

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