Prisoner of Hopes

Author: Roxanna Mechem

  • Stillness, Surgery, and Serenity

    Stillness, Surgery, and Serenity

    If you know me, you know I rarely sit still. Even when I am “watching” television, I am usually doing a word puzzle or craft project. When I am driving, I ponder and grapple with ideas. I like to be on the move mentally and physically. So when my husband finally decides (after 10 years…

  • Don’t Overstay Your Welcome: Rural Road Trips Missouri

    Don’t Overstay Your Welcome: Rural Road Trips Missouri

    I was always taught not to overstay your welcome. This colloquial saying communicates that you should always leave before your host tires of your presence. I generally like having company, but it is hard for people with different schedules and routines to coexist. In a campground, a diverse group of people are living in a…

  • Give a Hoot: Rural Road Trips Missouri

    Give a Hoot: Rural Road Trips Missouri

    Encounters in nature are calming and peaceful. Sayings like ‘leave only footprints, take only pictures and kill nothing but time’, remind us that our wild spaces should be protected. Every outdoor enthusiast seems to understand the gift and works hard to protect and preserve natural spaces. Unfortunately, there are others that are not so in…

  • Can You Help?: Travel Goals Missouri

    Can You Help?: Travel Goals Missouri

    When we signed up to be a campground host, I wasn’t fully aware that part of the job would be managing crisis. I should have expected it, but mostly I thought about cheerfully sharing camping stories and answering guest questions. I guess it is a good thing that I have decades of prior experience as…

  • Campground Host: Rural Road Trips Missouri

    Campground Host: Rural Road Trips Missouri

    This month, instead of a grand overseas adventure, we decided to see what it would be like to serve as a campground host in a Missouri State Park. I love to camp and I love the woods, but will I still be in love at the end of the month? My morning ritual is to…

  • And Still The River Rolls

    And Still The River Rolls

    But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Amos 5:28 Today, I am standing on a bank of a river contemplating life. The river is peaceful and in the early morning light the only thing stirring is deer. It would be easy to forget every care . I am thankful…

  • Train Travel in America: Rural Road Trips Illinois

    Train Travel in America: Rural Road Trips Illinois

    All over the world, we travel on trains. Generally speaking, we find trains relaxing, efficient and easy to navigate. In fact, I am an advocate for expanding train services. They provide valuable public transport and reduce car and air traffic pollution. Safe, affordable, and environmentally friendly transportation should be a national priority in my book.…

  • Camp Fire Coffee: Rural Road Trips Missouri

    Camp Fire Coffee: Rural Road Trips Missouri

    There is nothing quite like an early morning cup of coffee cooked over a camp fire. So hot it burns your tongue and full of smoky goodness, it is happiness in a cup. I get up early (5:30). It is peaceful and still. So far it’s just me and the birds and an occasional squirrel.…

  • I Don’t Want To Be Pretty

    I Don’t Want To Be Pretty

    I don’t want to be pretty, but of course I do. I don’t want to be just a winner of the genetic lottery, and ornamentally pleasing. I mean that must be nice, and I certainly don’t want people to think I am ugly. But I would rather be stylish and interesting. If you think that…

  • Stuck In The Mud

    Stuck In The Mud

    It started out innocently enough. We arrived home from a lengthy trip and realized that workers were coming the next day to start replacing our deck. Our RV usually sits on a large paved pad next to our house, but that area would be needed by the construction workers. My husband, just as he has…