Eat Your Heart Out O.E. Parker

Craig and I don't usually make a practice of profiling Andalusia visitors.  On the other hand, when a car comes up the driveway and it's a Prius or a Volvo we are pretty certain that it is not someone who is here to work on the Hill house or cow barn.  Similarly, when a visitor comes through the front door wearing peacock earrings, I can be pretty sure that she is a Flannery O'Connor fan.  Last Tuesday, a couple pulled up on a Harley, and my guess was that they were here because they happened to see the Andalusia sign along the highway and it looked like it might be something worth checking out. For some reason, I assumed their interest in O'Connor was negligible.  Was I ever mistaken!  After I greeted them, I asked if it was their first visit to the farm. Turns out these folks, Daryl and Kendra Kochel, came all the way from Idaho on motorcycle to see the O'Connor homestead.   Kendra said that ever since college it has been her dream to come to Andalusia, and here she finally was.  To show me just how devoted she is to Flannery O'Connor, she turned around and displayed what had to be the largest peacock feather I have ever seen tattooed on a human body. Kendra, who teaches high school English in Boise, was gracious enough to allow us to photograph her. How cool is that tatt!!
- Mark