Friday, June 4th

We walked through Paducah today, pass the Dixie Maid Drive-In and on through town. On we walked through cattle and ranch country. At approximately the 9 mile mark, we stopped at a picnic area and waited for our friends and former pastor, Rhodes and Susan Stipp. They were driving from Wichita Falls with two friends on their way to Tulia, Texas and just happened to be on the same highway as us. We visited for about a half hour and they were on their way and we were on ours.

Paducah is the Crossroads of America. US Highway 70 and US Highway intersect connecting the borders of the United States. R. Potts, an early settler, moved to the area from Paducah, Kentucky and gave anyone free land if they would name the city Paducah.

Paducah is very much like all the other small towns we have visited. They all have a town square with the county courthouse sitting in the center. The square is surrounded by building, many of which are very old and unfortunately abandon. A rough estimate is that 80% of all building around the squares are vacant. These towns all flourished in the 50's and before, but declined after that. Some of these towns would make great movie sets.

The only thing I found along the road today was peanuts. In the shell, but not roasted and not salted. I'm saving them for John. Anyone who likes hominy, will think raw peanuts are an epicurean delight. And speaking of John and Ruth, they are on their way to Baltimore, MD, to see their son, Rick, fly his F-16 jet with the Air Force Thunderbirds this weekend. Carol and I are holding down the fort until they come back. Stay tuned ......