We detoured on our fall trip to see the town of Vivian, LA. It is in the northwest corner of Louisiana a stones toss from Texas. The town, much like this mural to promote pride in the local high school is well past its glory years and most of the town was empty or faded. We met some nice folks, however, and that is sort of why we were here. Our friend, Janet’s (of Rusty and Janet fame) father was born here leaving home about 70 years ago not to return except to visit. Stan was a gem of a man, solid Christian, clever, a builder, an engineer by profession, a master gardener and just a delight to be with and we wanted to see where he was from. And the place where character was forged. These towns may appear faded but the legacy of small towns and farms and villages endure in the people who called them home. We could use a lot more people like Stan Davenport.