While they were on the road . . .

Early, ok not so early this morning I

set out for Cincinnati. Heading north out of Oneonta the morning sun was bright and the North Alabama world was a beautiful sight. Not a cotton pickin' care in the world . . .

I headed toward Cullman where I planned to meet my

friend Rev. Matteo Smith for a latte. And I had a bagel. As we are prone to do, we talked a little longer than I had scheduled, but that's OK because it is Saturday, and the Saturday rule is that one can do what one wants to on Saturday,as long as no one is hurt.

Matt is the pastor at Baileyton. One of his blogs is noted on my "pick a blogger" list on the right. We discussed many weighty matters, and some with no weight at all. At the right is the look Matt gets as he is inspired for his next sermon while sitting at the coffee shop. Music, politics, religion, love, Alabama football. We covered a lot of turf. He prayed for me in the parking lot, and we said adios.

Once again its northward ho. Except the large latte quickly had its effect on me, and I needed a bathroom. Fortunately my middle sister Deb lives in Hartselle, right off I-65. What luck, they were home. Robert, the second United Methodist minister to offer me hospitality today, Deb, and Rachel, their elder child (pictured on the left) were all decked out in their Auburn shirts and were watching the Auburn-Ole Miss game. We had a good visit; Robert had cooked some deer meat and chicken salad. I had some of both and took a couple of pieces of the meat for the road. Auburn seemed to be coming on strong when I left. I later found out that didn't continue. I know how they are feeling. Good folk, those Sparkmans.

Next stop, Vannderbilt. Nashville is only a couple of hours up the interstate and I thought I would stop in and check out how the younger son is doing. He had been out Halloweening last night. Wore a costume highlighted by a fireman's hat and a sword. The price was right. The concept had something to do with a fire breathing dragon that ultimately had to be dealt with. These Vanderbilt students are rather complex.

Still feeling the fullness and the saltiness of the deer meat, I was in the mood for something sweet, so we headed to Ben and Jerry's, just a couple of blocks from Vann's dorm. The triple caramel chunk was everything I wanted it to be. After a short ride, I took Vann back to the dorm. Vann is a really cool guy. And I am being objective.

Just a few hours to Cincinnati from Nashville. The countryside was beautiful. I was only a couple hours from the end of the trip when the set set over the rolling Kentucky countryside.

So now I'm in Cincinnati. It is a beautiful city at night. The motel clerks asked me where I was from and what brought me to Cincinnati. Stifling the obvious "my gold Sebring" response, I told them I was from Alabama, and I was here to help with the election. They asked who I was for, and I said Obama, and I thought they were going to give me my room free of charge, but they didn't. Still, it was a nice change. Lots of excitement about the election around the motel, gas station and convenience store I have visited so far.

But I was hungry and didn't want to have to get in the car and was looking for the real pulse of Cincinnati, so naturally I headed to the Waffle House down the block. I love Waffle House, especially late at night. The experience is universal. There was the young couple that looked over dressed for the place sitting at a booth talking quietly. There was a guy who looked like he just got off work for the utility company and when he walked in the cooks yellled out his name. There was a liquid on the floor that was unidentifiable.

We talked in the Ongoing Bible Study at Lester Memorial UMC in Oneonta (Wed. 6:00 p.m., all are welcome) about Sabbath. Someone made the observation that perhaps Sabbath was not created for us to do things for God, but for us to allow time and space for God to do things for us.

I need several Sabbaths in a row to get right. But right now I'm thankful for this one.

More tomorrow.