A Special Weekend

... my kinda town and place

This past weekend our Summer Thrill Series took us out of state, and heading north; this time to a small town.  A really small town.  If the typical so-called small-town USA has maybe between 1000-2000 residents, with a few paved streets, and maybe one or two fast food restaurants, then our destination should be categorized as a "smallest-town USA".  The town has one paved street (Main Street), no fast food restaurants and only about 400 residents. Yes, right here in America!  I'm not implying that it's a shoddy town. Far from it. Maybe it is to some people but to me it's an ideal place for a short respite and retreat, especially a break from the hustle and bustle of modern day towns and cities. As a "village boy" myself, I always relish the rural and the rustic.

... yes, and a water truck to spray the dusty streets.  I love it!

The size (in area) of the town is similar to that of an average village in Samoa. Again the roads are unpaved.  There are no sidewalks. The houses are simple, some even with corrugated iron roofs; yep just like Samoa. And like a typical Samoan village, there's a real sense of a close-knit community where everyone knows each other.  Amazingly when we drove around, we counted at least four different churches.  If that's any indication and measure of the spirituality and integrity of the townspeople, then I would venture a guess that there's no crime in that town.  They do have a sheriff and likely the only cop.

                                                                         

remember the Super Bowl '92 Pepsi commercial
with Cindy Crawford?? ...LOL!!

 On one side of town, stood an old soda vending machine and a public phone booth.  Both are considered relics by today's standards (American).  The soda machine actually works but we didn't try the phone.

Anyway we went to put on a lu'au for the city's centennial celebrations (Fairfield's 100th birthday), co-sponsored by the branch of the LDS Church there, where Dearie's uncle is serving a mission with his wife. They're the ones who extended the invitation to us. flyer(scroll through newsletter)

Early Friday morning around four o'clock, the fire for the umu (underground oven) to cook the pig was lit. At five we prepped the 200-300 lb pig and at six, the umu was covered. Six o'clock in the evening the umu was opened/uncovered witnessed and cheered by about half of the lu'au crowd. The eating and entertainment immediately followed. Throughout the day, we were cooking the different dishes/foods of a typical lu'au cuisine. There was island dancing and demonstrations of firemaking and coconut husking by yours truly (re:video below).  Overall, we had a wonderful time in this smallest-town USA.  It was truly an extraordinary experience!! Especially one of love of family and service for fellow brothers and sisters and community.

Cooking ...

... more cooking

....fire demonstration

"Fire!"

The Nutcracker ...lol!

Demonstrations Video