Kansas Snapshots by Gloria Freeland - August 28, 2026

On being receptive

In 1983 while in England, husband Art began a conversation with a woman at a restaurant having supper with her friend. Forty-three years later, she calls him the brother she never had and he calls her "sis." Over the years, our families have shared much, getting together as recently as this past spring.

In 1979, I met Jerome, my first husband, on a bus trip to a volcano in Costa Rica. We were both from Kansas, but it was chance that brought us together in that far-away country. Unfortunately, he died before our daughter was born. She turned 40 last month.

Art and I met because we had a common friend who mentioned me to him. That was 39 years ago, and we just chalked up 38 years of marriage.

While there is gratification in making plans, working on those goals, and seeing them come to fruition, unexpected intersections can add equal or even more fulfilling experiences if we are open to them.

Many years ago, Art became acquainted with Dave Johnson, a fellow who generates an annual somewhat tongue-in-cheek "Kansas Day Quiz." He shares it on January 31 to make people aware that while Kansas is sometimes seen as a "nowhere" place, a lot of important things have happened here.

Like Art, I've only met Dave in cyberspace, never in person. We always look forward to the quiz and we try to contribute by sending to him anything we feel might be a good quiz item.

In a recent communication, Art referred to a column I wrote about a pen-pal relationship from the 1930s. It prompted Dave to mention a recent experience of his.

In 2025, I gained a pen pal myself in a rather unexpected manner. My nephew got married to a German girl in April 2025, and my wife and I and three of my kids went to Germany for the wedding. My twins celebrated their 28th birthday while they were there, and on that morning I hiked with them and a nephew to the top of an extinct volcano in the area.

This was in a field of extinct volcanos near Weilheim an der Teck, about 25 miles southeast of Stuttgart.

At the top, I was taking a birthday picture of the two of them, when a man approached me from behind, handed me his cellphone, and asked if I would take a picture of him and his friend. So I obliged, and after the photo, we did introductions and got to talking. Jean-Baptiste was French, and his friend Alexandra was Austrian, and they live in Austria.

Jean-Baptiste had previously explored a nearby volcano and thought it would be nice to commemorate their climbing this one.

After the introductions, one of the first things he told me about himself was, "I have one great passion in life, and that is classical music."

Dave has a similar interest and the two men proceeded to talk for almost an hour. After a group picture, Jean-Baptiste said,

When I get back to where we're staying, I'll text you a video of my playing variations on "Happy Birthday" on my violin in honor of your twins' birthdays.

Jean-Baptiste did as he promised. Dave added, "We've been texting ever since."

An even bigger surprise followed at the end of the year. Jean-Baptiste asked if they would be interested in visiting Austria in February to help celebrate his 65th birthday.

Dave isn't in the habit of embracing such travels. Furthermore, his wife doesn't share his love of classical music. His daughter was interested, but didn’t want to spend the money.

So it was with a bit of trepidation that Dave eventually committed to flying thousands of miles to spend a week with someone he barely knew.

Well, I ended up having a fantastic time with him and Alexandra, and his son was there for a few days as well. It was a great experience, though too short!

Jean-Baptiste said Dave's friendly response to his request for a photo on their first meeting convinced him he had made the right choice in approaching Dave.

The men have found they also share a passion for film noir and Charles Dickens, among many other topics. Jean-Baptiste said:

... I would like to note that my life as a man regarded as an intellectual has led me to numerous exchanges in this field. But, having already spoken of selflessness, I found it in full measure when David and I discuss Dickens, for there is no trace of what I consider a form of pollution, that is, the sort of haughtiness with which self-proclaimed intellectuals - or those who would like to be considered as such - express their various opinions and judgments in a field that is less an opportunity for them to share than to assert their authority. So, in the end, I would say that David and I move about and wander together through "David Copperfield" like regulars at a familiar place, with the security that comes from a shared sense of familiarity.

Certainly, one doesn't want to go through life throwing caution to the wind, as many unpleasant situations might result. Yet being open to possibilities when they present themselves can greatly enhance our lives, generating memories that will make many of our carefully-crafted ones pale in comparison.

Oh, and there was one more surprise. While chatting via email, we discovered Jean-Baptiste and Alexandra live in Payerbach, a village of 2,000, where we and friends Lou and Deb spent three weeks in the fall of 2023. I wrote at the time about the enjoyment that mountain village brought us. Now, quite unexpectedly, it has done so again. Being receptive brought a big reward - for us and for Dave.