Days 12 &13 - Resting and visiting in Cape Girardeau, MO

Days 12, 13
October 15-16, 2016
0 miles today
0 feet of climbing
(569.1 miles, cumulative)
(14031 feet of climbing, cumulative)


In Cape Girardeau, MO we spent two days visiting Jean's brother and wife, along with other family members.

Paul is slowly regaining full health after two knee replacements:

Our nephew Phillip works as an HVAC technician at a local university. He built a fat tire e-bike that he brought over to show us:

The motor and controls came from Canada:

Paul showed us his recently acquired suspended tent, a "Stingray" from the UK. 

Granddaughters Siobhan (who lives with Paul and Nancy at present) and Shelby (who lives with Phillip and Leanne, but is likely moving back to Seattle) showed us how the tent works:

Finally, since we have some history buffs in the family as well as in our group of friends, I'll mention that among the several interesting topics of conversation during our visit was a 1977 essay by Sir John Glubb, "The Fate of Empires and the Search for Survival." Paul brought it to our attention. It is a fascinating presentation of the theory that empires follow similar patterns of growth and decay. On the average, they last about 250 years. 

The essay can be found here: http://www.rexresearch.com/glubb/glubb-empire.pdf

Here is an excerpt from the final page:

"As numerous points of interest have arisen in the course of this essay, I close with a brief summary, to refresh the reader’s mind.
(a) We do not learn from history because our studies are brief and prejudiced.
(b) In a surprising manner, 250 years emerges as the average length of national greatness.
(c) This average has not varied for 3,000 years. Does it represent ten generations?
(d) The stages of the rise and fall of great nations seem to be:
          The Age of Pioneers (outburst) 
          The Age of Conquests
          The Age of Commerce
          The Age of Affluence
          The Age of Intellect
          The Age of Decadence.
(e) Decadence is marked by:
          Defensiveness
          Pessimism
          Materialism
          Frivolity
          An influx of foreigners
          The Welfare State
          A weakening of religion.
(f) Decadence is due to:
          Too long a period of wealth and power
          Selfishness
          Love of money
          The loss of a sense of duty.
(g) The life histories of great states are amazingly similar, and are due to internal factors.
(h) Their falls are diverse, because they are largely the result of external causes.
(i) History should be taught as the history of the human race, though of course with emphasis on the history of the student’s own country. "

Here is a table showing the duration of empires that appears in the essay:

Tomorrow we plan to resume riding. We'll head west across the state of Missouri to rejoin Route 66 in Springfield, MO.