aunt's birthday party

 in the afternoon i made it to chariton, iowa, for my aunt's birthday party. in the morning i enjoyed the continental breakfast, make your own waffle. then i took a walk around the area, and i found 1 cent. when i made it back to my hotel i watched two movies. one was 'i, tonya' about the figure skating scandal, then i saw the original 'rocky'. the former was on HBO, the latter began a marathon of movies in that franchise on BBC america. 'rocky' still works for me, i like the passion in it. at midday i had lunch at the nearby arby's. when i made it to town i said the sign on the front door was locked. then i was advised to try the back. i got a twins baseball jersey from my stepfather, doesn't fit him but it fits me. and some pictures. one was of my grandparents; another was me at age five with my siblings and i am wearing a snoopy shirt. i spoke with many people there besides my aunt, also mom, another aunt, and my dad. when i was done i did the drive north, on highway 14 to newton, where i had a dairy queen blizzard. also got pictures of emerson hough school, and the house i grew up in. then it was on to des moines to see my college roommate and give him a vikings flag i had found at work when we were cleaning out storage rooms. we spoke about various subjects and watched the sunday night football game, chiefs beat the falcons. then i went back to my hotel and wrote about the day while having a beer.