30 thousand miles, added to the odometer of my new ‘73 Ford Maverick, in one year. And that’s a lot of miles for a guy whose drive to work was only about a mile and a half. But it’s also a lot of other stuff.

A lot of miles, memories, and consonants and vowels

I racked up so much more than just a bigger-than-normal number on the odometer. Because I always had my trusty Bic pen and spiral notebook on the seat beside me. And I ran more than one Bic pen dry. Plus, I eventually filled up a couple dozen spiral notebooks.

Now, I’ve heard (and read), I don’t know how many times, people think Kansas is boring and flat. So, how could I have racked up so many miles on my car…in Kansas? There’s nothing to see. Yeah, it’s true. Boring and flat. So, I suggest you drive on around, past, or through. Don’t stop in Kansas.

“There are no trees”

I’ve been alone before,
But never knowing such peace
As when I sat before that audience of trees.

“There are no hills”

Wind blowing through snowflake hills,
Ice castle all crumbling down.
Winter, in silence, is gone.
I watched it go with a frown.
Then, with a sigh, I remember saying good-bye
To Autumn the very same way.

“It’s just so boring”

The Autumn sky is full of colors
And sometimes drops of rain.
It makes me think of bygone summers
And riding on a train.
The golden sun, like Kansas wheat,
Would bake the fields of corn,
And I bucked endless bales of hay
And all my jeans were torn.

Sure, if the only part of Kansas you ever see is through the car window, on Interstate 70, you’ll get a somewhat monotonous perspective of it. But I didn’t rack up all those miles, on my Maverick, driving the interstate.

I meandered many dirt roads through scenery I might never see again. But I dilly dallied through delights from the mind of God that ink and words and spiral notebooks couldn’t contain them all. Big things I saw. Tiny things, too.

Just Imagine And You’re There

There’s a house in the ferns and the petals of the dahlias.
All you have to do is imagine and you’re there…
Breathing in the dew-fresh air.
Life is a breeze, mellow in the trees,
And Joy is there…you need only say please.
You can eat some watermelon
And drink dewdrop tea.
You can sleep until ten thirty…
Oh, it’s heavenly.
There’s a beach by a puddle
Where you’ll lie in the sun.
The fun will never end,
And the days will pass with care.
All you have to do is
Just imagine and you’re there.

All the poetic stuff I just shared was written as a result of driving a lot of miles through “boring” and “flat” Kansas. I hope the majority of people who see it that way always see it that way. And that they never break the heart of the Heartland.

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