The world is full of fascinating people...

Well, you will be pleased / unconcerned / bitterly disappointed to hear that I have been asked to write again for Mum's blog. Thank you to all the people (both of them) who were kind enough to say that they have been enjoying my stint as guest writer of the blog. I would also like to thank my mother for the opportunity... (crikey, this is turning into an Oscar acceptance speech).

"For Pete's sake Jeremy, tell us what's been happening, show us pictures, and don't use long words!" I hear you roar. Alright then. By public acclamation, I will.

This morning we went to the Emanuel church service, which today was held at St Crispins, a retreat centre owned by the Episcopal Church about 30 miles outside Shawnee, in the rolling Oklahoma countryside. The service took place at 10:30 followed by a picnic lunch and a chance to connect with other members of the community - and what a fascinating, talented and interesting group! I won't go into details about everyone in the church, but today I met a dulcimer player, a former aid worker, environmentalist, professional photographer, teacher, two avid cyclists, the owner of a gun shop, an ex-employee of the space programme, and Father Christmas.

Here I am with the incredibly talented musicians, Cindy and Daryll (Daryll is also a professional Father Christmas, I wonder why), and their Dulcimer:

In case you don't know what a Dulcimer is (and I didn't), it can best be described as a stringed instrument similar to a slide guitar, harp and xylophone. It can be plucked, hit and strummed, preferably not all at the same time. It looked difficult to master but in the hands of Cindy and Daryll it sounded beautiful and distinctive.  

Here is another picture of mum and I taken at St Crispins:

I regard myself as spiritual more than religious, and what today reminded me was, first, that most people are interesting and everyone is unique, something we often forget when we aggregate information and generalise in our information-rich world. And second, take time to find out about people - you never know when you'll meet a Dulcimer-playing Father Christmas.     

We had a long, lazy, relaxing drive home (actually we managed to get lost, the sat-nav packed up, and we needed to stop for a banana split to recover), but it was a fabulous day and great to be spending time with mum. Tomorrow is my last day before heading to Denver. Not too sure what's on the agenda - perhaps relaxing locally in Shawnee - but it's been a brilliant time.

Take care, Jeremy