Tonight I went to Lindsborg to see Garrison Keillor at Bethany College. It was part of the Johnson Lecture Series, named for Charles and Lucy Johnson who endowed it. Mr. Johnson is gone, but Mrs. Johnson was seated just a couple of rows in front of us.
We weren't really sure what to expect - if it would be a serious lecture or more like a "News from Lake Wobegone" or something inbetween. It was more like a "news" segment. He had everyone laughing multiple times throughout the program.
He also had the entire group sing on more than a couple of occasions. There are many talented musicians in Lindsborg so we sounded pretty darned good as a group.
Greg took lots of photos and was generous enough to share them with me.
We went to the book signing afterwards and I got my photo taken with him. I'll have to dig up the one from sometime in the 80s when I saw him in Minnesota and have a matching set.
He was quite charming to everyone in line waiting to get books signed.
Of course, this is the second time he has been in the area in just a little over a year. He was here for the Kansas State Fair in September of 2005, and did a live show from here. Governor Sebelius played herself on the program and was quite a hit. He was singing her praises to people tonight.
Of course, Garrison is a democrat. Yet one more thing about him to love.
And, this is a good time to remind you to GO VOTE!
I ran into a bunch of people I know. Greg is always teasing me that I know someone everywhere we go and tonight we were waiting for the doors to open and I heard someone say, "Patsy Terrell!" It was Susan, who I used to work with years ago. She said she had seen my website and found a photo of her mom on it from the Christmas parade last year.
Greg had a good chuckle. He looked at his watch and said, "OK, we're 45 miles from home, and within 12 minutes you've run into someone you know." Later I ran into Trish. She was there with Judy and Ellen who I just saw in passing. I also ran into Don from Kansas Dialogue. And, the capper of the night, I saw Lew - someone I adore that I worked with many years ago. We only had a moment to chat but he asked for my contact info so hopefully we'll get together soon.
As we were waiting in the line for autographs, we were chatting with this nice couple. We later learned it was the president of Bethany and his wife. We had a great conversation with them about everything from Gorbachev's visit last fall to population trends. I just love being around smart people!