Our last stop on the college roommate tour was to see Carolyn and Jim. The last time we saw them was in a larger group. This time there were only four of us to chat. No matter what subject came up, we seemed to view it from the same angle. That’s amazing to me, since we lived in different areas of the country and didn’t see each other for decades.

That is not to say it wasn’t exciting. Carolyn is a twin, and their triplet grandchildren were there with a guest for spring break. I’ve never been around so many multiples. As we drove into the farm, we saw the pre-teens in the pasture with three horses. A bit later the two girls were throwing a football The four had lunch quietly in the kitchen as we ate outside on the porch. Later it was fun watching them climb into hammocks high off the ground. I was impressed with their good manners and respect for our conversation.

I asked how Carolyn and Jim found the farm, and she said her grandfather bought it over a hundred years ago. I noticed an angel on a gatepost, and she said, “You must have missed seeing the large angel statues in the family graveyard. I took special note of them on the way out.

Carolyn showed me their wedding album, which I was thrilled to see. I think theirs was the only non-family wedding I was in as a bridesmaid. They married two years ahead of us. Carolyn disappeared into the house for a little while and served us big bowls of homemade chicken salad –just as tasty as it was beautiful. You know you are in the presence of a fantastic cook when she says, “It was just….” Yes, of course. They had a big family of boys and now a passel of grandchildren. She is probably the most experienced cook I know.

Jim is as involved in church work as John ever was. I don’t know all that he does, but he takes care of finances, produces the bulletin, and took a phone call about grounds maintenance while we were there. I enjoyed hearing his praise of a Baptist preacher who has coordinated charity work in the community. The man has a database that other ministers plug into showing names, amounts of money involved, and what was given to people.

The little toy camera was determined not to miss out on the action. Carolyn groaned, that being the classic reaction to the appearance of a camera. She followed it with a brilliant remark. She said, “I might not like my picture today, but in three years, I’ll love it.” I have the feeling I’m going to quote that many times. One of the triplets took a photo of the four of us.

We had to head home, because John was slated to do the chanting for our mid-week service. We traveled at a lovely time of day. Tennessee’s interstate highways were all lined with miss-named redbud trees. The sun made the lavender blooms glow against a dark green background of evergreen trees.