I have no idea why it was there…but there it was. As if anyone ever needed a giant peach in their front yard, someone had determined that setting this humongous fruit alongside the road was a good idea.
Jonathan and I were on our road trip to visit three Indiana colleges in as many days. We drove to Terre Haute, Bloomington, and Evansville. We took highways, byways, and back roads. We saw a lot of cows, corn, beans, tractors, barns, and trees (southern Indiana is very rural).
We also saw this peach, a 30-foot-tall Santa Claus, a personal roller coaster called The Blue Flash, and an over-sized elephant next to a gargantuan martini. I didn’t realize that southern Indiana had so much to offer!
These kitschy oddities were quite a gift on this university tour. The campus visits provided no excitement. But the giant fruit? It left us laughing. Anyone can go to college. Anyone can pursue a degree. And most people do. The mass of 18-year-old’s and their doting parents was mind-boggling, and in some instances, nauseating. But somewhere out there was a unique individual or two who dedicated their time to form a massive peach, or a back-yard roller coaster, or a 500-gallon alcoholic beverage, and putting it in their front yard!
I’m grateful for the fantastic fruit we saw on this road trip. It restored my faith in humanity. So often we live like sheep; following blindly into the next expected thing; however, the Peach revealed that there are still people in this world who take a different path and pursue their passion.
I want to be more like them. I want to pursue a dream. I want to make a statement. I want to craft a legacy…sans the 15-foot fruit, coasters, or drunken elephants.
#ayearofgratitude
