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Quivira
The cross west of Lyons KS. in honor of Juan de Padilla, the martyred Franciscan friar. I'm off to Vietnam for the 10th, 11th or 12th time. I need to get out my old passports and see how many visa's I have bought. I don't know if you really need a reason to go to Vietnam. The food is good; the climate is good, and the people are just great. I feel at home in Vietnam, and the main reason for that is the people.
My adventure started 12 March and my friend, Charles Sherman and I meandered through the midwest part of Kansas towards Wichita, my departure city. I like history, and Kansas is full of it. Charles is the curator of the Central States Scout Museum. If you are ever in Larned KS, I recommend a visit to the scout museum. The museum probably has the largest collections of scout memorabilia in the world.
Following Highway 56 you will be on or close to the Old Santa Fe Trail. This famous trail helped open up the West. It goes right through my farm and the path of thousands of covered wagons has left a trail that can still be seen today.
Another historical mark is the furtherest point North of the Spanish
Central States Scout Museum
Larned Kansas. Collection of the worlds largest collection of Scout Memrobilia conquistador explorers. This point is just West of the present-day Lyons Kansas. The spot is marked by a beautiful cross erected by the Knights of Columbus. This was 80 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock Massachusetts. It was 90 years before Deacon Edward Converse landed in Charlestown Massachusetts.
Deacon Edward is the ancestor to all Converses in the United States. 330 years later two branches in the Converse family came to Kansas. One family East of Lyons and one-family West. By this time, they were 6th cousins and the only contact between these two families has been by my son John who met Vern Converse in the Fort Riley dispensary.
The Spanish Explorers were led by Francisco Vasqez de Coronado. With him was a Franciscan friar Juan de Padilla. Padilla came back the next year by himself and spent a year promoting Christianity among the Quiviera Indians. He was eventually killed by the Indians and became the first Christian martyr in North America.
My destination Vietnam knows the name Coronado from the Vietnam war. The last battle I was in during the Vietnam war was Operation Coranado. It also knows the Francican Friars as Alexandre
de Rhodes is the father of the Vietnamese written language Quoc Ngu. This writing system developed by Rhodes is based on the Roman alphabet and replaced the system of writing based on the Chinese Characters.
On to Lyons Kansas to see the Quivira Museum. Its hours published said it would be open, but it was closed. There is a neat mural on the West side of the town square. It depicts the Spanish Explorers, wagon trains, Quivira Indians and farmers who settled the area.
McPherson was the next stop. If you would like to see what Larned would look like two, three or four times larger, just go to McPherson. They are both extremely neat towns.
McPherson was settled shortly after the Civil War, and it was common in those times to name towns after Civil War heroes. They certainly found one in General McPherson. Folklore rules have it if you are killed in battle, two hooves of the horse are in the air, if you are mortally wounded and die later, one hoove of the horse is in the air. Accourding to folklore, McPherson statue is not correct, but, the thought counts.
Drive around McPherson
Scout Museum
Lady Liberty. A Scout effort long ago was to erect Lady Liberty in many towns. Does your town have one? and you will be in awe of the attractive city it is. They have two small colleges in town, beautiful parts, lakes, and it is all flat, a bicycle paradise.
Charles and I had dinner with a friend of mine, Ann Jones, who is the Executive Director of an NGO (non governmental organization) in town who works to help families. They have a bike ride fund raiser coming up, and I wish I could participate.
After McPherson, we traveled to Wichita and checked into our hotel. I had an early departure flight, and everything went off without a hitch. The small jet rode to Chicago went without any problems, and we were blessed with excellent weather the whole trip. I got some decent photos of Chicago from the air. Furthermore, since we flew the great circle route, I moreover got some great views of Western Sibera, Northern Alaska and North Korea. The whole trip went fairly easy. I spent 28 hours in the air.
At the HCMC airport, I was standing by a man who spoke Vietnamese well. He was a cheerful fellow, who I thought he was with his family. Actually, he was just helping these
people drag their luggage of the round table. I started visiting with him and found out he was an orphan from the war. He was born before 1975 from a black American and a Vietnamese Mother. He didn't know who his Father was. He was shipped to the United States after 1980 and adopted there. Here was a story I would normally have followed up on but that night I was hesitant. I did ask if he had a happy childhood. He said he had a great childhood and loved his Mother very much. I noted that he had six big packages plus suitcases brought to Vietnam. The packages were full of gifts for his Mother.
I got to Ho Chi Minh City at 10:30 PM and my host Trang and Huan still insisted on going out to eat. The trip so far is going well.
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Danny Low
non-member comment
Let us meet in Vietnam if possible
Enjoy your exploration of new places! Can we meet sometime around 10 to 22 nd May 2012 if you are still there? Email me. Thanks from PDG D Low, RI Representative for Vietnam