The Life of Lou Ruppert

Happy Easter, everyone.

I had a fun time today. An old friend who I once let stay with me returned to church today. It took me most of the service to remember his name! I hadn’t seen him in a few years, so my brain had put his name into storage, and I had to wait until my mind found the key to where it was kept. First his first name came to me, about twenty minutes into the service, and then his last name came ten minutes later. Finally, much later, I uselessly remembered his middle initial. It was fascinating how I had completely forgotten it, yet was able to recall it over such a long period of time. I couldn’t even begin to guess the biology of how that all works.

I went down to visit my family after service. They live a good hour or two’s drive out of town, all the way into another county. There is no mobile phone reception out there, because it is so remote. It’s out there far enough that the road near our house isn’t even paved yet. It’s a gorgeous drive, all through farm country, past horse farms, dairy farms, forests and logging operations, big plastic yuppie mansions, little dilapidated trailers and so on. It’s also in a colder climate zone, so it’s like driving back in time a couple weeks. There was still snow on the ground in places.

I am so thankful for the family God gave me. I could have been born to any family in the world, but I was placed in mine. They’re all good smart people, with practical skills and lots of creativity. With all of the bad families and broken families out there today, that really means a lot. We hung out for a few hours, guaranteeing I wouldn’t get any homework done tonight, but it was worth every minute I spent. I got there just in time for my parents’ first skype call. We talked with my youngest brother, who is still in college. Next holiday we’ll probably try to connect to my aunt and uncle who still live in New England. But that’s one more skill my parents have picked up as they approach retirement age.

My father was using the last of their winter squash today. That was perfectly timed, as the spring greenery should start coming up soon for them. None of the vendors at the local farmers’ market seem to have been able to produce squash that would last more than a couple weeks in my basement storage, but my father’s squash lasted as long as I kept them for. I don’t know why that is, but I was impressed to see one on their counter tonight, looking as fresh as it was on the autumn day it was harvested.

It was hard to leave to go home, but I always try to leave before dark so that I don’t have to worry about hitting big game on the way home. Deer tend to move about at dawn and dusk, and hitting one at highway speeds can total a car, if not kill the driver. I was lucky. I didn’t even see a deer, but I did have to stop for someone’s escaped goose who thought it would be a good time to hang out on the warm pavement. It’s a good thing I’d already slowed down because of the boneheaded yuppie in the late model Toyota that was tailgating me for a mile before. I slow down for busy farms anyway, but the unsafe behaviour of my pursuer made me slow down slightly more, making the difference between a somewhat urgent but comfortable stop and slamming on my brakes at the last minute. Sometimes even life’s annoyances can be blessings in disguise.