RVing – Celebrate a Dead Guy

You can find out more about Todd, Debbie, his eight children, their RV, and ministry at www.familymanweb.com

Hey Traveler,

In Fort Wayne, IN (just an hour from my house) sits a small hill in the midst of the urban sprawl. It’s surrounded by malls, restaurants and strip-centers. In fact it’s right next to the mammoth, convention center parking lot on a sliver of green space next to the river.

If you happen to be there and make the short climb to the top, you’ll find a few trees and an iron fence not more than 15 feet on each side. In the center of the space is an old rock used as a headstone and on the stone is the name of the man buried beneath it – John Chapman… or Johnny Appleseed.

Each year, 100,000 people converge on the grounds and enjoy a festival in his honor. It has to be one of the best kept secrets in the Fort Wayne area. I missed it, because I was away on a speaking gig, but my family went and walked the grounds, watched blacksmiths and musicians, ate kettle corn and drank root beer.

It’s Americana at its finest and is repeated all over the country every autumn. There are apple-butter festivals, pumpkin festivals, frog festivals, fall festivals, civil war reenactments, and celebrations of historic events.

But the only thing missing… is your family. Oh yeah, these festivals can take up the whole day – it may mean parking with 10,000 other cars, and leave you all exhausted… but they also leave your children with a dozen memories that they’ll enjoy for years to come when they get that first faintest hint of autumn.

They’ll be outside in their yard or walking down a sidewalk and hear the rustle of stiff leaves, smell wood smoke in the air, or feel a crisp breeze on their face and be instantly taken back to a time where they walked a fall festival dedicated to… something. But what they’ll remember is the feeling of security, being loved, and YOU.

Not bad from the celebration of a dead guy! But you gotta make it happen. So do a little Google search and see what might be happening around you in the next weekend or two.

Swing wide and keep your eye on your tail,

Todd

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