Indianola is about a half hour south of Des Moines and can be reached by the I-5 bypass. Indianola is home to Simpson College and the National Balloon Museum and Ballooning Hall of Fame which receives 24,000 visitors a year.

When I arrived at Emerson in the afternoon, students were playing outside in the sunshine. My host was Mrs. Burris who wore her two daughters' softball uniforms. Mrs. Burris was excited by my visit and a bit nervous in trying to prepare for the speaking engagement.

I was introduced by Mr. Timmerman, the school principal, who was young in terms of managing a school of nearly 500 students. I found Mr. Timmerman a seasoned veteran, pleasant, and certainly caring for the students. The students were dressed in just about every Major League baseball uniform you can imagine. And the first student I called on wore a Cincinnati Reds uniform - which might have shown my biasness. Most of the dreams from the students centered around baseball and I have to admit I had some stellar athletes who performed the shadow baseball drill well.

The roar from the crow during the Art of the Scream contest for the student who won the X Games hat had to be because I'd chosen one of the more popular students from the group. I had an enjoyable visit and this was just the trip I needed to prepare myself for visiting over 1200 students the next day in Des Moines.