Part Nine

“Peace be with You”

After what was a cold, dreary and rainy day on Saturday, Sunday comes out of the gate peaceful as it should on a Sunday. I got to the 10am Mass at Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Pierre. 

There was pretty much a full house with a couple of outstanding voices; namely 2 young children who didn’t want anything to with whatever they were doing and theirs cries periodically filled the church. At one point, the pastor questioned the congregation if one of the young ones didn’t like his sermon which got a few laughs. Still, when it came to the part of the Mass where the pastor says “Let’s give each other the sign of Peace”, I had a family of 4 to my right. Two young boys most likely 6 and 4 and a little girl just past 2. I gave their mother Kelly a handshake and wished her peace and got fist bumps from the kids. As I have mentioned in blogs past, this is no way of implying my faith on anyone, but in this time and age, love one another and leave your peace with them. And so it goes.

After church, it was down to Steamboat Memorial Park. 

The park is on Lake Sharpe which was created out of 2 hydropower dams on the Missouri River. This part of the Missouri is known as Lake Sharpe and is bordered by the Oahe Dam in Pierre and Big Bend Dam in Fort Thompson.

As I mentioned, I am visiting my friend Jenn. She is a single working Mom and has 2 grown daughters, Miranda and Becaa, and is a grandmother to Miranda’s son Noah. Jenn’s mother, Dondis, lives right down the street from Jenn. Dondis has 2 dogs named Bitsy and Shottsy who are dachshunds. Dondis is affectionately known to me as B-A-Double-G, which stands for Bad Ass Great Grandma. She has been fighting an illness for a few years but is still as BA as ever.

I have known Jenn for over 16 years. We met thru the posting boards of the then WB Network and were fans of the TV show “Dawson’s Creek”. And there are her 2 dogs: Nutmeg and Ginger who are also dachshunds. Jenn owns her own piece of the rock: a nice cozy two story home in the center of the city. She has worked in public service for most of her adult life.  She now works for Hughes County as a deputy finance officer and voter registrar. Despite all of the duties that are in her life, Jenn manages to keep a smile of optimism on her face and, plain and simple, doesn’t take crap from anybody. We keep in touch by phone every Sunday night. Let’s just say that after a long week, Jenn appreciates that I am around and it’s a good thing to have an adult conversation each week with a good friend.

Jenn and I ran some errands this afternoon which included a stop at Menards, the Midwestern version of Lowes. And we approached the checkout isles, I saw these beautifully packaged Lionel Trains freight cars. Nearby were some train sets and boxes of “O” gauge track including 9 inch and 3 foot straight track and curve track to make 31, 36, 42, 54, and 72 inch curves. Brings a dried tear to this railfan.

At about 530pm, it was dinner time at Dondis’s house. Oh, and Jenn is a great cook, only surpassed by her Mom. I was informed that pot roast was for dinner tonight. Out the pot with the roast came a perfectly simmered batch of carrots, potatoes and onions. Add to that freshly made garlic bread. “Yum”, “thank you” and “I am not worthy” were about the only words I could say. And homemade apple crisp with a side of vanilla ice cream. Sweet!!

After dinner, it was an hour spent with Jenn before we parted ways. We’ll get back into our weekly phone calls next Sunday. Thanks, Jenn. It was a grand time.

Monday begins the second leg of my journey with a revisit to Kearney thru Wednesday. On to North Platte and then a couple of days in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

And we end this second Sunday with a visit to the state capitol grounds in Pierre. Blue skies, like breezes and fall colors. Always beautiful.

I’m Philip J Zocco. On The Road. In Pierre, South Dakota.