A Country Theme Park
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Our visitors had left after the weekend and I was reflecting on the great time that we had as I munched on one lonely leftover doughnut. (Well, I had to eat it before it got stale.)
When we have visitors here in rural Missouri, we have to find our own entertainment since we country dwellers don’t have theme parks or beaches. What we do have is hay fields, ponds, and doughnuts.
I discovered this little gem of information when we had guests from out of town. I needed something from the store so I asked, “Would anyone like to ride along with me to Rutledge?” All were in favor, so we packed into a couple of vehicles and headed down the road to the store in the little village of Rutledge.
I got the few items that I needed and then I picked up a couple of boxes of doughnuts. The best thing in the store, according to me, is those big ole glazed doughnuts that melt in your mouth and if you get there early, they are still warm. My son likes the cream filled ones, all covered with powdered sugar. The grandchildren like them too and it’s easy to tell who has been eating doughnuts. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to see the tell-tale splotches of powdered sugar on children’s faces and clothing, or adults either for that matter.
We try to eat healthy at our house but when we have visitors for the weekend we have diet amnesia. (We apologize to Dr. Atkins, Keto, and all the other diet plans). On Monday, we will return to our tossed salads, raw carrots, and lemon water. Perhaps that’s why Monday gets such a bad rap because it is also “no more doughnuts” day.
After returning home from the store, the children were intrigued by the tractor and hay baler in our back field so we sat in the yard and watched the hay being baled. The baler seemed to eat up all the hay in the field as it moved along and then, all at once, the tractor stopped and ejected a huge five foot tall bale of hay. The kids cheered but I don’t think our neighbor who bales our hay ever realized what a celebrity he had become.
Another fun activity here in the country is riding around on the farm in the back of the pick-up truck. We stop now and then and the children explore, climb trees, or fish in the pond. Sometimes we make a campfire and roast hot dogs and make S’Mores, so I guess we actually do have a “Country” theme park. After all, we have pond/lake beaches, and a ride in the back of a pick-up truck in a field of hills is sort of like a roller coaster, depending on who is driving. And the doughnuts… don’t forget the doughnuts. Disney may have a lot of things but they don’t have Rutledge doughnuts.
Tomorrow is Monday, “No More Doughnuts Day”, so as I savor this last doughnut, my thoughts turned to what Jesus said, “…Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4.) So whatever day it is or diet that nourishes your A Country Theme Park physical body, don’t forget to nourish your soul by feeding on a daily diet of reading God’s Word.
By Pamela Blaine