Today's journey was traveling on I-30W (Lincoln Highway) to Arcadia. Arcadia was once named Tip Top because a boulder on a peak just outside the small town that was placed by John Minchen is the dividing line between how the waters flow east and west and into which river. All waters west of the boulder flow into the Missouri River - the largest river in the United States. All waters east of the boulder flow into the Mississippi River.

I was to speak to three schools in Arcadia, Westside, and Vail and thus the name of the school district is Ar-We-Va. Rosemary Cameron was my guide and did an excellent job of getting students interested in the book. The students dressed in Little League uniforms and several teachers dressed in their baseball/softball uniforms. It made the shadow baseball skit that much more authentic and we certainly had ourselves a fun time.

What was amazing to me was the day before I spoke in a gym with hundreds of students overfilling half court. And today I was speaking to groups of 40 to 60 students. A student's gift holds no boundaries. It doesn't matter if a student is born into a rich family, financially strapped family, or the student attends a small farming community school or a thriving city school numbering students in the thousands. Each and every child is born with a special gift no matter what his/her situation is.

Rosemary suggested I eat at Dem Beanies Coffee House on Main Street in Arcadia. It was a great suggestion. For 6.25 I was offered two pork loin chops, fresh coleslaw, a heaping of mixed carrots/peas/beans, and steamed red potatoes. Ann Lander, the owner, sat down and talked to me. She said she had a story to tell about living out dreams. When she turned 18 and graduated from high school in Wausau, Wisconsin she purchased a one-way airline ticket to Hawaii and lived there until she met her husband who was in the Air Force. After he retired they moved to his home town in Arcadia.

Before leaving the diner, Ann offered me a piece of Shirley's cream cheese raisin pie and said that Shirley was the best pie maker in the state and was going to prove it by entering Shirley's pie in the state fair. After sampling the yummy filling I also became a believer.

After my visit, I stopped at Minchen's boulder and on this particular rainy day I have to admit my loyalty was tilting slightly westward toward Tip Top.