I recognized the face of Althea right away, she has been reading my books and my blog for years, she flew up from Florida to come to the Open House, my heart lifted to see her. She said she just had to come up and see the farm and visit us.

All weekend I  had this recurring thought, that this was America, this rich and diverse and good assortment of people from everywhere, gathered for a common purpose. This is our hope, and our promise, and my commitment.

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the conflict. If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, so that my child may have peace. We have it in our power to begin the world over again.