Chris’s letter home (2) – 8th March

Last week I was out of touch with the world, on retreat at Bethany Spring, a retreat house a mile down the road from Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. Gethsemani is famous for being the home of Thomas Merton, monk, spiritual teacher and social activist, who died in 1968. Kentucky is famous for the Kentucky Derby (pronounced Durr-by) horse race – also for Bourbon whiskey and, of course, Kentucky Fried Chicken… It was several degrees colder than Alabama, which got a bit warmer just before I left. I had to wrap up well before I ventured out on a walk, but after a while the sun would come out and it was quite warm, especially if I was walking up hill! As well as spending hours in silent prayer (not a lot I can say about that) I walked over to see Merton’s hermitage, and the monk who went with us (who had known Merton in the 1960s) read an extract from his journal. Fascinating…

Photo: Gethsemani Abbey, Kentucky

Gethsemani Abbey, Kentucky

Photo: Brother Paul at Thomas Merton's Hermitage

Brother Paul at Thomas Merton’s Hermitage

I flew back from Louisville to Birmingham (Alabama) on Friday, and spent Saturday on a mad and wonderful railway chase, in the company of John Stewart, an engineer by day and railroad fanatic in the evenings and weekends. We started by walking up the old track bed to look at the iron ore mining on Red Mountain (Birmingham didn’t exist till it was founded in the 1870s by the railroad companies, who made it the coal, steel and railroad capital of the South). Then we went to visit a huge model railroad in a vacant shop premises in an out-of-town shopping mall – don’t know how they got that, but I wonder if our club could use the old Borders store in Fosse Park, which would be the equivalent!
Then we visited two model layouts in homes, one belonging to John’s friend and one belonging to John himself. Land is cheap, and many houses are large, with big basements used as garages, or workshops… or converted for model railway layouts. John’s layout, track mostly laid but no scenery yet, is going to be hugely impressive when it’s finished. It’s pretty impressive already.

Photo: Iron ore crusher on Red Mountain

Iron ore crusher on Red Mountain

Photo: John Stewart and his model railroad

John Stewart and his model railroad

Our other visit that day was to the local model shop, where I asked if they had a little old train I could run on my little old British layout at home. The shopkeeper produced an early-20th century steam loco and four wooden-bodied carriages from the Southern Railroad, and it was love at first sight! You can see them when I get home…

Photo: My new model loco

My new model loco

Did I mention Flannery, the cat that lives with Henry and Becky my hosts? She is a “Maine Coon cat”, so called because her fur resembles a raccoon. She is silvery-grey with black streaks – a most beautiful and unusual colouring. She was suspicious of me at first, but we’ve got to know each other. She has her own three-storey resting-place, fur-lined, from which she sleeps or looks out of the window…

Photo: Flannery in her luxury bed

Flannery in her luxury bed

Yesterday (Sunday) Becky took me to St Luke’s, a big, bustling church with many hundreds of members, a complete contrast to the little inner-city church we had visited the previous Sunday. Next week I’m preaching in yet another church in Henry’s diocese – I broke the habit of a lifetime and prepared the sermon over a week in advance, while I was on retreat.
This morning we went to the “Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum” about 45 minutes down the Motorway (or Interstate Highway, as it’s called here). The website said it was open Monday to Saturday 9am to 4pm, but when we arrived it was closed, and the notice said Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm. We really mustn’t let our parish website give false information like that! Fortunately most of the stuff was outside, so I scrambled over the loco cabs and took some photos, before we came home.

Photo: Steam loco at the Railroad Museum

Steam loco at the Railroad Museum

Tonight Becky and Henry are entertaining friends and cousins to dinner – starting with oysters on the patio!! (They aren’t such a rarity here…) Then on Wednesday we’re taking the train to New Orleans, going on the tracks of my family’s old railroad (at least, I think that’s right…) More news in a week or so – as you can see, I’m having a really hard time here, but someone’s got to do it!!

Best wishes

Chris.

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