One bright spot. . .

. . . in a very dull day was a visit from these two lovely ladies.

Susan Roberts and Bonica Brown were scheduled to meet with me this afternoon about a grant they have obtained to assist small towns like Afton improve their economic viability. I took Ron M. with me because he helps me with matters of public relations and such. Susan and Bonica were going to meet with Mayor Harrison of Afton after their meeting with me, to discuss revamping the Chamber of Commerce and getting the City of Afton online in the form of a website. I had plenty to say to them, as I've felt the ache of being mostly ignored by the town during the entire 10 years I've been there. I do love Afton and would love to see some progress made in bringing it back to life, so I was eager to speak to these folks. They agreed with us that the most important way to bring back said vitality would be to emphasize the obvious, that Afton sits on Route 66. So far, other that Afton Station, there has been no emphasis on the Mother Road, despite the fact that Afton Station has brought about 6,000 visitors a year into the town, and others in town could potentially benefit financially from those visitors if they tried. The next step is a joint meeting with the mayor, me, and any other interested citizens. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Other than Susan and Bonica, we had exactly ZERO visitors today. We read all the available periodicals, and I did three crossword puzzles. Betty Baumann came for a while in the morning and it was nice to see her after several week's absence. She will be bringing in a brand new batch of her beautiful handmade items soon, so our shelves will be full of wonderful Route 66 items.