We got up early this morning and packed a picnic lunch. I had asparagus and salmon. DD fixed gourmet turkey sandwiches for her Dad and brother, filling them with vegetables like they do at Subway.

We spent the morning and the first half of the afternoon at Shiloh battlefield. I had never realized that disease killed more men than bullets in the War Between the States. Open latrines polluted the water. Farm boys had never been exposed to diseases to measles and chicken pox. Fresh food was often in short supply. Often the men went for days eating hard tack (a dry biscuit made from white flour) and coffee.

Late in the afternoon we toured Helen Keller’s childhood home in Tuscombia. What an inspirational woman she was! She lost both her sight and hearing to what was probably scarlet fever or meningitis when she was 19 months old. Yet she lived a full life doing much to inspire and help others who were blind and deaf.

We had dinner at O’Charley’s. This is a chain of restaurants in the Eastern US where I can always find a beneficial meal. Tonight I had steak, broccoli, and sweet potato fries. All were delicious.

Our hotel had an arrangement with a local gym called Riviera Fitness. The kids and I left HH watching TV and went to work out. The equipment was first class. I spent half my time on the best elliptical machine I’ve ever tried. The other half was spent on weight machines.

One thing about a public gym is that the customers sweat a lot. Sometimes the equipment is sticky, and sometimes I wonder if it is sanitary. I noticed other people at the gym squirting a liquid on paper towels and wiping off the equipment before they used it. I realized that there were stations set up all around the gym with antibacterial spray and paper towels. I thought it was a great idea – especially with a bad flu season expected this winter.