Joan and Linda

After we returned from Marathon and had our dinner of Spiedies, we saved dessert for later, as Maurice and Anne's two oldest daughters were coming by for a visit. Linda shared pictures of her recent visit to Kentucky to visit her son Eric and daughter-in-law Sarah. Such pretty countryside and rolling hill occasionally marred by strip mining for coal. Eric and Sarah are spending a year at the Methodist Church's Henderson Settlement, essentially doing missionary work. What a wonderful choice they have made as they try to help others.

Joan and her husband had recently made a trip to England to visit their oldest son Ira, who was spending a semester of his junior UNC college year there. They had a fun time being with Ira and visiting Canterbury, where is also located a 900 years old church, St. Martin',s in which is located a brass grave plate of Sir Thomas Stoughton. Many family members have enjoyed visiting and making a rubbing on this particular brass. Now Joan and Todd intend to display their rubbing by hanging it in their stairway at home. It was fun to hear about their trip and to see some note cards Joan had made using pictures from their trip. Her husband Todd could not be at our get -together as he has been elected as one of the town judges or justices and was having his first court date that evening. I wanted to know how many criminals he got off the streets but haven't heard so far.

Todd is continuing a fine family tradition of having a judge in the family. During the Salem Witch Trials in the times of the pilgrims. William Stoughton was known as Hanging Judge Stoughton, since he believed those witches should be hanged, and he never recanted this position throughout his long life. Maybe Todd will become the latest version of the hanging judge, but I doubt that.

With the nieces visiting, we stayed a second night in Newark Valley and arrived back in Fayetteville during a rain storm. Safe travels to you all.