The Adventures of Fric and Frac: Adventure 360: Austin, Texas/Post D

The morning view from the Mendenhall deck.

Everyone in my age group (Boomers) remembers where they were the day JFK was shot. I, myself, was in the seventh grade (Sister Francine's class). It was Friday, November 22, 1963, in the afternoon when we heard the announcement. I remember partly because it was my favorite time of the week. On Friday afternoons, Sister turned on public radio, and we got to do "art" while listening to whatever classical music was playing. That day, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake was gliding across the waves. I remember the tranquil nature of that piece as its serenity was shattered by Sister Francine's anguished face. She had a habit of rubbing a piece of chalk across her lips whenever she was nervous (or perturbed). I think that day she stood terrified. Today, these many years later, Rod, Karen, Judy, and I toured LBJ's ranch in Stonewall, Texas. It stands as a permanent snapshot of that day. Everything in the house is as it was when the announcement was made at the ranch. The stillness is eerie, as if the fear of that day is frozen in place. We started the day buoyed by the warmth of meeting new friends. We drove out to Travis lake to the home of Chuck and Laura Mendenhall, "family" friends of the Franz's. There we enjoyed a simple Friesen family breakfast of Semel smothered in cheddar cheese and strawberry jam, hot coffee, and a berry smoothie. We enjoyed the usual small talk of new meetings and then left the Mendenhall's for a 200 mile whirlwind trip to the LBJ ranch and back, which included a lunch stop another sixteen miles down the road in Fredericksburg. The day was lovely, and while I would have been just as content to lounge the day away on the Mendenhall's deck, which provides a lordly view of lake Travis, I was also happy to explore the hill country with Rod and Karen. I find Texas history fascinating, and even more so when it intersects with my own life experience. We finished the night enjoying a wonderful dinner (Laura pulled it from her emergency freezer stock) of stuffed peppers, grits with cheese, corn muffins, and a sparkling cabbage salad. Judy and I also enjoyed some red wine. We learned a little bit about "back in the day" when the young Franz's and the young Mendenhall's were serving on mission trips in the Congo. Chuck threatened to show the home movie, but the home video angels turned the talk to other things. One fascinating subject is the work of their daughter, who as a member of the state department, helps children and women in African countries by completing the necessary grant applications for their assistance. I'm sure it's more complicated than just handing out the checks, but I sat there thinking, "Yes, this is the type of service we need in the world." One thing I've learned from traveling is that people are way more alike than they're different. I'd like us to spend more time finding similarities than differences, more time in acceptance than in dissent. My first daily prayer is for justice; my second is for equal opportunity, and somewhere on the list, I pray for a way I can help. In these uncertain times when our President claims to be a man for all the people, I'm troubled by his promise of increased deportation, his potentially mindless attack on Planned Parenthood, his cruel labeling of "Us before them", and his (So far) obvious protectionist stance. I haven't lost hope in the America I love, but I'm as terrified as Sister Francine was on November 22, 1963. Not to worry. I have guidance. I believe in the power of prayer, and as Laura said during dinner, "We've lived through tough times before." Mostly, I'm holding on to the passage Abe Friesen took solace in during his time as a conscientious objector (Joshua 1:9), the gist of which suggests that I should trust the Lord with all my heart, and not my meager human faculties. In that light, and in the light of the grace that's been bestowed on me, I can only say, "Life is good, especially today."