PS

I've caught more than a little flack about omitting a certain detail from our New York trip last weekend. It was not intentional, I just did not know how to express my reaction to the situation in a way that would not be...taken the wrong way, for lack of a better way to say it. So here you go, the omitted detail, unedited. You've been warned. :)

Like I said, the McCallums took us out for lunch...I did not mention where they took us. I guess I didn't realize that Woodstock was actually a real live place that still supported life; honestly, the only thing I'd ever heard about Woodstock was what everyone in my generation (unless you live there) knows about Woodstock--that it was sort of like Sonshine Music Festival for hippies. And we usually leave it at that because (a) none of us are hippies and (b) none of us really know what it is that hippies do and (c) there are no national monuments in Woodstock and it is not a capital so they don't cover it in Geography class.

But, lo and behold, it actually IS a place, a place that you can DRIVE to, even, and there are people there. I was impressed before I even got out of the car! :) At first glance it appears to be just a normal summer tourist town, brimming with random shops and flea markets and out-of-the-ordinary restaraunts and people who are just happy to be out in the sunshine. But as you start to really look at stuff, you notice some very not-normal-summer-tourist-town things. Such as the fact that you can buy a bong in several of the little shops. And not just bongs but things to go with bongs, if you know what I mean. You can also buy just about any occult item you could conceive of buying, have your fortune read by any number of psycics, and participate in a healing drum circle in the middle of town most any afternoon of the week. And these are normal town events.

We actually ate lunch at a pretty normal restaraunt called Joshua's...I would go there again if I had to be in Woodstock over a mealtime. I had a turkey, apple and brie sandwich (first time I've ever had brie...it is a nice cheese, I've decided, but I will stick with sharp cheddar) with sweet potato circles (they were actually called 'chips' but they were not crispy) and Nate had a chicken, pesto, tomato and (fresh!) mozzarella sandwich minus the tomato. Both were really good, we thought. But I think I was too creeped out to really enjoy my food...on the beam next to Pastor McCallum's head was a poster advertising the Shaman healing drum circle, and I was weirded out just reading the bio on the leader, Julie Straightarrow. Note, Native Americans often have names like that and it actually is their name...there are no Native Americans in Woodstock and names like that only come from the "enlightenment" of the individual. No offense meant, I am just stating a fact.

I guess I am just showing my ignorance and my shelteredness by being so creeped out. I just didn't grow up with marijuana and bongs and voodoo dolls and such...those are things I've only ever heard about in a negative context and my first reaction is to run away when confronted with them. But stretching is good, and I am feeling more and more well-rounded by all this travelling to new areas we are doing.

McCallums, thank you again for welcoming us into your home and being such wonderful friends! I hope you really can make it down here for some time away...there's a cabin with your name on it! :)