Mad Town Tour

I had an unusual tour of sorts today on the southside of Madison.

Edgerton: First I left the house around 8 a.m. to get down to Edgerton (exactly 2 hours, including one pit stop) for my friend Mark's funeral. I'm glad I was there along with two other women from his newspaper days in Rapids. His father (his only surviving immediate family member) appreciated it. He held my hand and told me he had just talked to Mark on the phone less than 5 minutes before his fatal collapse. "He was just fine then. You just never know."

Let me tell you, as hard as it was to bury my dad, there is nothing sadder than seeing a dad have to grieve for his one and only child. Very, very sad. There were some light moments, though, in his celebration of life. When I said my goodbye to him as he lay in the casket, he had a Snoopy figurine on his right shoulder and a John Wilkes Booth bobble head on his left. I had to laugh (quietly, of course) at that. So typical of Mark, who enjoyed, studied, collected, obsessed about anything and everything Abe Lincoln!

You could tell he had a good friendship with the pastor, too. The way she talked about him, you knew that Mark hasn't changed much over the years. Still burying himself in his work and under piles on his desk -- yet always finding time for others. Rest in peace.

Stoughton: From Edgerton, I headed back north and swung through Stoughton where our next-door neighbor Madison happened to be playing in a softball tournament. They had won their 8 a.m. game 20-0 in just 3 innings and the game I saw also lasted only 3 innings -- as they won that one 15-0. Wow. Hardly worth the trip! Good thing it was on my way from Point A (Edgerton) to Point B (Oregon). I also ran into my work partner Brian who was there with his clan watching his daughter (in a younger age group than Madison) play. He didn't recognize me, I don't think, since I typically don't wear a dress to work.

Let alone the ballpark!

Oregon: Oregon (the one on the southside of Madison, not he state) was my "original" destination -- on my calendar for a month. My high school BFF Julie was holding a graduation party for her oldest daughter. Arriving early (thanks to the shortened ball game), her visiting college roommate and I got to be helpers. So that worked out nice. Even if we didn't do much since she was so organized!

I got a kick out of seeing Julie's brother Danny, now a grownup man named Dan.I had to pick on him for being a pest when we were younger. Julie and I would be on the phone and he would take one of the "extra" phones in their house, hold in the toilet and flush so we'd hear that in our ears. Funny guy. He's definitely matured!

I also got to see Julie's finished scrapbook she did for her daughter. If you recall, I kidnapped her and "forced" her to go to Camp Crop-A-Lot with me in February. She took home my Cricut and cartridges after that so she could keep working on her masterpiece. It turned out great! Her husband still, however, prohibited me from talking about Camp Crop-A-Lot or Crop-toberfest in front of their friends, who would obviously no longer think they were cool. (Some people don't understand!)

Headed for home a little after 5 p.m. and got home to my empty house by 7. Jim and Carter were up in Marshfield to watch our nephew Colin run his first stock car race of the season. Unfortunately, it poured and poured rain there -- and here -- so they left. I think they still might try to get a race in, but we are all home and the only thing we're watching is TV ... and the skies for a possible rainbow.

I think that was guaranteed in the cost of my "tour" today.