Also stinky? We missed some stuff this year that we thought we'd have plenty of opportunities to check out in the future, not knowing we'd be headed south again so soon. La Crosse has a gigantic Octoberfest celebration, but we only went to the parade; Kevin was leaving for his six-week trip to Asia two days later, and we didn't want our last few days together before the long separation having beer sloshed all over us. Then in December, there was a giant light display in the park down by the river; crossing the bridge over the Mississippi, I could see all the trees covered in lights. I'm not a fan of the cold, though, so I kept waiting for a warm night to go walk through it . . . and it just never warmed up enough for my liking.
So when I saw a flyer for an Earth Day festival, I thought, heck, here's my chance to see a La Crosse event before I take off! It was set for Sunday, and we planned to meet some friends there at 11AM. We went to a church other than the one we normally go to since they had a 9AM service; our usual 10:30 service wouldn't get us there in time. Kevin and I gave each other a little grimace when the pastor included a warning against Earth Day enthusiasts in his sermon; could he somehow tell we were bound for the festival right after worship? He said we should stay away from those who worship Mother Earth and give her all the credit for creation . . .
. . . so we headed out for the park and guess what? There wasn't a Mother Earth evangelist in sight. Just lots of kids and grown-ups checking out rain barrels and baby turtles and bike blenders. And this, the highlight of my day:
One of my goals in life is to be a costumed character someday. Mickey Mouse, Chuck E. Cheese, a fruit or veggie at the La Crosse Earth Day Festival . . . it makes no difference to me. I just want to be in one of those outfits and spread joy to little kids everywhere (and weird adults who love them, too).
And hey, there are still 36 weeks, friends. It could happen.
Just do it! I once dressed up in a huge suit for a Focus on the Family Canada event as an Adventures in Odyssey character (it was VERY hot in there!). Some of the kids thought I was really Dylan, but one little boy whispered to me, "I know you're not real, but that's OK."
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