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Mansfield, Louisiana
In Louisiana I again turned up unannounced and had one of the best
days of my whole trip.
Before I knew what was going on, the local paper took me on a tour
around town - apparently it was the site of one of the last major
battles of the American civil war.
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| A badge from the Mansfield police department
in Louisiana. |
They were very proud of their town, showing me
around the new library and their oldest church. Then I was told
the mayor wanted to see me.
I'm chatting away with him then the fire chief comes in after hearing
a guy from Mansfield, England, had popped in (I was obviously the
talk of the town). Then in comes the Police Chief and asks if I
want to ride in a cop car for an hour! A truly wonderful day.
I left with a huge smile on my face and plenty of souvenirs in my
pockets.
My final stop was Mansfield, Ohio, a similar size
to our own and an official sister city. Here I tasted my fifteen
minutes, as the local tv station WMFD, decided to 'do a piece on
me'. It was all very embarrassing.
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| A badge from the Mansfield fire department
in Louisiana. |
They filmed me as I went round all the top tourist
spots - which included a ride on an old carousel and the rehearsals
for the miss Ohio contest (talk about seeing the sights).
Then I was ushered in to see the Mayor Lydia Reid, who despite having
no prior knowledge of my visit, welcomed me in like a long lost
friend.
I saw and did some wonderful things on my trip around the world.
I went to the Grand Canyon and Ayre's Rock. I swam with dolphins
and parachuted from 12,000 feet.
But memories of my trips to Mansfield bring the
biggest smile to my face.
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| A headline from the Enterprise-Progress, Mansfield,
Louisiana - The cheek of it, eh? |
Why? I was a complete stranger, but simply by being
from a town of the same name they welcomed me with open arms.
I don't want to get all slushy - I am a Mansfield
man after all - but it did the heart good, I can tell you. And there's
still plenty more Mansfields to see.
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