Welcome to the special midweek edition of the VacaChat newsletter. The schedule is a bit different because Dot was at the MOD Meet in Minnesota with the family and BugGirl. And they had a bit of an "adventure" when beginning the trip home. However, from the stream of photographs of smiling faces coming out of Minneapolis, it seems like everyone had a great time at the Meet!

I did do a Skype session on Friday night, and I broadcast that on the VacaChat channel on Sunday, but unfortunately the software I was using to record it did not pick up my voice. I'm hoping to try to find someone who might have made a video recording of the Skype session, so that I can pull their audio from it.

Last week was a bit of a sad one for me, as a very old friend of mine passed away rather suddenly. He and I were born on the same day, entering this world shoulder-to-shoulder. His Mom and my Mom shared the same hospital room. We were pals from the first day of Kindergarten until we graduated from high school. (Though we had drifted apart a bit about halfway through that period. Different friends, different life choices, etc.) I hadn't seen Dan since the last high school reunion--our 10th, back in 1989. My, how the time flies. Anyway, I went to the funeral on Thursday, and it was good to spend some time with his family and share memories and see folks I hadn't seen for a long time.

It was a lovely day, and the ceremonies were quite moving. At the remembrance, they played Paul Harvey's "So God Made a Farmer" speech. Danny stayed in Wheatland and was a rice farmer (4th generation of farmers for that family). He was very proud of the rice he grew, and in fact we were invited to file past his casket and pour home-grown rice over it before it/he was lowered into the ground. It was so very fitting.

Danny was a very funny kid, and he and I shared a love for spreading joy. In adulthood, he became infamous for his ten-plus minute long stories that would leave everybody with their sides aching. We both loved our practical jokes. I think he and I shared the belief that the world is in infinitely funny place, and if you can't see the humor in it, you're looking at it all wrong. So he had the minister read something at the cemetery that I had never heard before, but it was so lovely and profound--it suited him greatly, and I think it suits me that way as well. So I'd like to share that here:

The Clown's Prayer
As I stumble through this life,
help me to create more laughter than tears,
dispense more cheer than gloom,
spread more cheer than despair.

Never let me become so indifferent,
that I will fail to see the wonders in the eyes of a child,
or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged.

Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people,
make them happy, and forget momentarily,
all the unpleasantness in their lives.

And in my final moment,
may I hear You whisper:
"When you made My people smile,
you made Me smile."

So for this clown, the day calls to me with requests for this and that, so I will talk to you all again soon.