I have a special connection to Joplin, Missouri. In 2001, my first daughter, Angel Hope Erickson, was stillborn and buried there.
I’ve made a point to go back and take care of her grave as often as possible. Up until 2012, that was annually, then life got in the way, and it became every 2-3 years. That’s going to change.
Now that I’m in Nashville, the drive to Joplin is only eight hours. And not only that, it’s a pleasant route. I’ll likely be making the trip a couple of times a year. It can easily be done in a three-day weekend. I can update the flowers more often. My last visit before this week was April, 2022.
You can take my ashes there when I die.
A few years ago, I bought a spot in a columbarium just yards away from Angel Hope’s resting place. I don’t care if some of my ashes get spread in a few of my favorite places, but you can stick the brunt of them in the cubby in Joplin.
Joplin is an emotional place for me. It can make me extremely sad, but I’m also always happy to go there. The cemetery where Angel Hope is buried is a very peaceful place. In fact, with real estate prices so low there, I often consider the prospect of retiring there. But we’ll see, I might just stay around Nashville. Or I could go back to Maine.
While in Joplin
A few places I often stop while I’m in Joplin…
- Braum’s Ice Cream
- The Joplin Mall
- Ernie Williamson Music
I didn’t go to the mall this trip because it was Black Friday and I had no interest in fighting crowds. I did go to Braum’s, and to the music store. I even picked myself up a little gift. I wanted a musical instrument bought in Angel Hope’s birthplace.
Years ago, I found a Nashville Tele at Ernie Williamson’s, but I recently decided to trade it in, along with my other guitar I had shipped from Joplin a couple of years ago. I decided to get an American Tele before I left Maine. So, that left me without an instrument with a connection to Joplin.
So today, I picked up a little red ukulele with built-in reverb, chorus, and delay. It’s pretty cool, and now it’s a new connection to Angel Hope. I also wrote a lot of lyrics on this road trip. New songs might be right around the corner. – dse
- Learn more about creativity
- Get new Anderhill music first
- Get special discounts
- Sign up for the newsletter