By Dr. Bruce Smith ——Bio and Archives--March 25, 2024

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There is much that is positive to report from a trip to New England last week because Spring is on the way. It was a family visit journey, timed to allow a weekend there when grandkids were available. The plan was two days to get there, two days there, then two days back.

We left on Thursday, March 14 to make the two-day drive to the Boston suburbs. It was all winter grays and browns when we left, with nary a sign of spring anywhere. A major late winter storm was approaching our part of the heartland when we left our little freehold near the National Road west of Indianapolis and headed east to Columbus, Ohio, where we visited a family member.

Then we turned north onto I-71 to high-tail it past Akron and onto I-76 East. Northeast Ohio was the prettiest part of the trip east. It had obviously been a good winter for the hard red winter wheat that showed glowing emerald green across rolling acreage. Seeing winter wheat is always an encouraging sign. It means there are some better than average farmers around. It cheered me just a little.

Our visit in Columbus was delightful, but a little longer than we had planned, so we were dragging a bit when we got beyond Youngstown. We decided to stay the night near the Pennsylvania line, two hours shy of our usual stopping point. That’s where the storm caught us during the night. Next day in the gloom and wind we ran the wipers nearly all the way across Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and up along the Mass Pike toward Boston. We made it to near Boston on time, but more tired than usual. We had a dinner off the grill with salmon that hadn’t traveled as far as it does to reach us in the Heartland.

We had planned plenty of activities and cooking while we were there so I could be the background guy while the grandkids enjoyed their Grammy. There were crafts and movies. I always loved a kitchen and I get lots of points and smiles when comfort food mealtime arrives. For Saturday night I used my daughter’s directions for making a memorable taco bar. All day Sunday a fine pot roast simmered in the........

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