Golconda, IL

When I was in the second grade my family moved from Aurora, IL, ( a Chicago suburb) to southern Illinois, Golconda, IL to be exact. We moved there so my father could cut pulp wood and we lived in the middle of Doyle Wagner's farm, it was out in the middle of nowhere and outside of Golconda, closer to Brownfield. For a little boy it was quite the exciting place, I was from the city and now living in the woods on a farm, we weren't farmers just lived on one. At the end of our lane where I caught the school bus was a fire tower that reached into the heavens, or so it seemed, it was tall and forbidden, I admitted this week in front of my mother that I have been to the top of tower...I'm 44, I should be safe from punishment by now! This past week I preached revival in Brookport, Il, had a great meeting, the church was an exciting place and the Lord did a good work, I was blessed and pray they were as well! My mother came down from Aurora, and a couple former church members from Champaign, northerners you would call them, Southern Illinois is a world unto itself. I say that not in a critical manner, but as my mother and our friends and I traveled around I noticed that in that neck of the woods things haven't changed much since we left and went back to Aurora. We only lived there from the middle of my second grade year to the middle of my fourth. In fact, I met a girl I went to school with during those years...amazing! It was almost magical as we drove through the beautiful country, leaves and limbs on the clay dirt roads, fields and ponds looking exactly like they did when I was a boy. And talk about great food, there's no BBQ like that served during the annual Deer Festival, Pope County is the Deer Capital of Illinois you know! It felt like home for those few days, I'm glad to be back in Zephyrhills, Florida, a place made famous for it's pure water from a pure place...no water like Zephyrhills water...But I do look forward to returning, and will be sure to stop by my Aunt Linda's store, The Chocolate Factory in Dixson Springs...a sure place to find a peaceful rest, some awesome chocolate, and an ice cream cone for the weary!