Maria bought this green tile, it’s called the “conductor,” and we saw it at an art show, and I will hang it in my office.

Maria and I had an idea this morning, we are very excited about it. In the Spring of 2018, we plan to rent a small van, and Maria, me and Gus will head out on a month-long trek into the American heartland to meet some of the members of the Army Of Good.

We haven’t gotten into the details yet, but how wonderful it would be to meet some of the good people who have brightened so many different lives in so many different ways. People ask me about them all the time – they are in every state in the Union and some foreign countries.

I always have to say I don’t really know most of them, haven’t talked to them, met them, or know a thing about them. How nice to travel West and stop and meet some of these people in there home towns, we would write about it every day on our blogs.

We are thinking of calling it the “Army Of Good Tour.”  The rental vans are comfortable and have Internet connections, we can blog as we do. Gus seems like the right dog to take, he is small enough to be okay in a small van (it would drive the border collies mad). We have a new person in our lives, Mandi Mulready, she works at the Mansion and is going to pet sit for us when we go to New Mexico.

She is loving and conscientious and is delighted at the idea of staying at the farm while we travel. Seeing Mandi with the Mansion patients, I don’t  have to worry about our dogs.

We are fortunate to have found her, she already knows Red and Gus and will take great care of them. I have no problem with Kennels, but I do think dogs are less stressed at home. How great to travel the country, meet these angels face to face, and deepen the ties to our community. Over the next few months, we’ll pick some people to visit and plan a route.

I think heading through the midwest, and then into Minneapolis and out to California makes sense. Maybe get to California, and then turn around.

The Army Of Good has become a powerful and cohesive community that has done a staggering amount of good. Meeting one another seems the logical  evolution of this idea.

More later, this is one of our better ideas.