We traveled across the country to see Sophie baptized.

After Joseph dropped us off at Bob Hope Airport Tuesday morning on October 14, Carla and I flew Southwest into Manchester, New Hampshire, arriving after 1:00 a.m. EDT, and following a delayed plane transfer in Las Vegas and a touchdown in Chicago.

The delay gave us time for Sbarro pizza at the airport. The Vegas-to-Chicago flight was full; and, with low boarding priority, Carla and I had to sit in different rows. I sat between two women. To my left was Christine W.; she was going east to live with her son and his wife and child. Her husband passed away a year or so ago, just after they bought their dream home on some western rural property. She had lately been staying with the brother to help him through some health and addiction difficulties. I had brought on the flight Jim Rogan’s biography Rough Edges, hoping to finish it, but spent most of that leg of our flight in conversation with Christine.

To my right was a young, married girl; she slept through most of the flight but, because the flight from Vegas had been delayed, was likely to miss her connecting flight in Chicago. There was a heavy rain when we landed at Midway Airport in Chicago, and she would have to go to a different terminal there for her next flight. I asked the other passengers ahead of us to let her pass through to try to catch her flight, and they accommodated her. Hopefully, she made it.

Carla and I managed to have a row of seats to ourselves on the final leg into Manchester from Chicago, and I finished reading Jim’s autobiography—recommended, and not just because he named me in it.

We picked up our National car rental, a Hyundai SUV, and drove a half-hour or so, seeing few cars at that time of night, on our way into Littleton, Massachusetts to the Parkers’ home. Ginger and Elliott had put Henry out of his room and in with siblings, and we slept there during our visit.

Of course, the next morning, Carla helped Emma and Sophie with Ginger’s chickens.

Tending the chickens

There’s our rental car, behind Sophie; Carla didn’t like its rust color.

Sophie and a young Easter-egger

The two-story home also has a basement and a tall chimney.

The tall chimney

The neighborhood homes are on spacious lots, and it’s quiet, except when the train rolls by just beyond the backyard trees

The backyard

or the occasional domestic woof or wild animal howl.

The neighbor’s dog

We spent the day mostly resting from the previous day’s trip and enjoying too-seldom-seen family.