September 4, 2023, North Platte, NE- The day is closing with my conducting a house fly apocalypse. Three of the four who came in with me, to this clean and well-appointed room, at North Platte Inn, have met their doom. The survivor is making its annoyance, at being alone, very much known.

I was alone, in a sense, being the only person from outside Colorado at this weekend’s conference, but no one was trying to shut me out, much less extinguish my life force. Therein lies the difference between how we view humans-and other animals that seem beneficial, versus those that are proven pests.

Indeed, we spent the morning at Colorado East Baha’i Summer School, hearing each other’s recounting of childhood trauma- of which, while I had comparatively little, was cathartic to those who did have a lot to share. One has to be very careful, even when listening quietly, to ever convey the impression that the sharer is wasting her/his time. I think that needle was threaded very carefully today.

The door to friendship at the conference never felt to me like it was more than half-open, but. given what was shared this morning, it is very clear why. Each person present did express a belief in the Oneness of Mankind, and has shown a genuine love and acceptance towards their, and others’, children-which is a huge start towards healing. For my part, it was comforting to be able to reassure those who were open to listening, that their being in the world is valuable, that they need not apologize for what they may have said or done in the past, that they themselves felt was inadequate. As I made those affirmations, it felt like I was looking in the mirror-because how often have I made the same self-criticism!

The gathering ended with an equally cathartic, all-hands-on-deck clean-up, in which everyone, from the smallest toddler to the seniors who were ambulatory, joined in making sure the camp was cleaner than we found it.

Post-conference, I made my way to the Colorado State Capitol, in mid-town Denver, and garnered photos of all four sides. Then, it was up into the Great Plains, via I-76. It was a fairly light-trafficked route, through northeast Colorado and west central Nebraska, to this town that also has something of a Western feel to it-thanks largely to its association with William Frederick Cody, “Buffalo Bill”, and the ranch that bears his name. While I will not be going over to that ranch tomorrow, as this trip is not about tourism, per se, a stop at the Golden Spike is in order.

Here are a couple of scenes from earlier today.