A hawk made a brief stop atop a utility pole along the State Forest Road last Sunday afternoon. The hawk’s colors stood out in the light of an autumn afternoon.A lone white-tailed deer was climbing up a hillside after it crossed the State Forest Road last Sunday afternoon. Seemed kind of unusual that there was only one of the critters.

There's that song again...and a trip to the woods, too...

Please read this...

Thank you, Dueling Pianos guys. Don’t know if you’ll read this, but I’m grateful for the song you chose to share when you passed by my vantage point at last Saturday’s Veterans Day parade in Anna.

I had found a spot near Mt. Moriah Lutheran Church which offered a good place for photographing the parade. While the bright sunshine on Saturday was indeed very nice, the conditions offered a bit of a challenge when it came to pics...

Anyway, the Dueling Pianos guys came by on their float. As they neared the place where I was standing, the familiar sounds of a song I have mentioned a number of times over the years began to fill the air... 

You may know the words...and the music which accompanies the lyrics...

“Just a small town girl

“Livin’ in a lonely world

“She took the midnight train going anywhere

“Just a city boy

“Born and raised in South Detroit...”

Yup. There it was again. “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. The Dueling Piano guys even got lots of the folks who were standing along South Main Street to sing along as they passed by...  Hey, the song is one you pretty much have to sing along to... I just smiled to myself...

Seems like I mentioned “Don’t Stop Believin’” a few weeks ago in this space. Mainly because of the special memories in brings back for an old guy... Like I’ve said before, I hope you have a few of those songs in the soundtrack of your life...

Thank you, again, Dueling Pianos guys...

Meanwhile...

Speaking of memories...

Last Sunday afternoon was just about perfect for the 12th day in the 11th month of the year. Sunshine. Blue sky. Temperature somewhere in the 60s, I think. On the scale of 1 to 10, last Sunday afternoon scored somewhere around 15 or so.

That’s why I once again decided to head out to the woods. The Other Half decided it was a good time to take a nap. 

I got in the car, headed west on Mountain Glen Road...south on Illinois Route 127...and west on the State Forest Road.

Yup. There it was again. The Trail of Tears State Forest, where a stroll through a creek bed beckoned. I spent about 45 minutes or so just enjoying the surroundings. At one point, a woodpecker of some sort could be heard overhead, tapping on a tree branch.

As I was heading back to the car to make the journey home, where cooking Sunday dinner awaited, a couple of fellow travelers on The Journey Through Life stopped  just ahead in their pickup truck. A window on the truck rolled down. Greetings were exchanged.

A gentleman in the truck asked if I had any special memories of the state forest. Without thinking much about my response, I raised my right hand an indicated that I had one special memory. He then told me about a special memory he had that involved a long ago visit to the state forest, when he was in the 6th grade.

Of course, at that point, I realized that when I signaled that I had only one special memory about a visit to the state forest, that was off by about, oh, 999 or so, give or take a couple of hundred...

I even got to add a couple of more memories on the way home that involved spotting a white-tailed deer and a hawk...I’m pretty sure the critters were out enjoying the day...just like me...

I wonder if they like that Journey song, too...

The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

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