Tim Ellsworth

August 10, 2005

Dear Daniel,

I’m riding on a train up to Chicago, where I’m going to watch the Cardinals and Cubs for the next three days. Baptist Press is sending me to do a collection of feature stories surrounding one of the greatest rivalries in baseball.

It’s the first time I’ve ever ridden a train for a trip like this, and I’m really enjoying it. Flying always seems so stressful, while riding the train is much more relaxing. Plus, it gives me more time to catch up on some reading and writing.

It also gives me a chance to sit back and watch the state of Illinois pass by my window, and it makes me a little homesick for my home state. We don’t live in Illinois anymore, and you may never know the state as home in the way I have.

One of the things I’m noticing is the abundance of corn and bean fields across Illinois. As I write, I’m watching the sun set out the window to my left, and I’m seeing silhouettes of silos and farm houses. The scenery isn’t breathtaking by any means – just field after field with a few trees thrown in here and there. I do feel a sense of heritage about that, though, as both your Grandpa and Grandma Ellsworth grew up on Illinois farms. I don’t know a lot about farming myself, but I appreciate agriculture’s place in my family. Your Grandpa and Grandma were shaped by life on a farm, and thus that played a role in my own development – and it will in yours, too.

I’m also noticing the small towns through which I’ve traveled many times. When I left college, I spent three years working for the Illinois Baptist newspaper, and in that capacity I traveled all over the state. I’ve visited churches in many of these towns. Or, maybe I’ve simply passed through them en route to someplace else. Some of the towns are clean and quaint, but some of them are junky and run down. Still, they hold an odd attraction for me.

There’s nothing special on which I can put my finger as to why I love Illinois. God certainly created better places in the world. I just know that it’s home – for both me and your mom — and I guess that’s reason enough. Illinois may never have much of a place in your future. There’s no guarantee we’ll ever live here again during your childhood, and it’s anybody’s guess where you’ll spend your adult years.

But the state certainly has a place in your past – and because of that I hope you’ll come to appreciate it as much as I have.

Love always,

Dad