B.C. Returns
 Those of us old
enough to remember World War II can remember that when General
Douglas MacArthur was ordered by the President to leave the Philippine
Islands before they were captured by the enemy, he made his famous
statement, "I Shall Return." B.C. Hanneman is no General
MacArthur, but he did return to Bean Blossom after a career in
the U.S. Navy. One of the greatest pleasures of the Bean Blossom
festivals to me is the totally unexpected reappearance of old
friends who I thought I might never see again. So there he was,
all 6 feet 7 inches of him, with a long walking stick and his
new dog "Harvey," ambling up to our campsite -- he
knew exactly where we would be -- and I almost fell out of my
chair. He had the same wide grin as 27 years ago, on a slightly
more lined and weathered face, and he stuck out his hand with
the same demeanor as if he had seen me yesterday. All the way
from Florida, where he now works as a courier, B.C. had to come
back to his beloved Bean Blossom because the word is out that
Dwight Dillman is bringing it back. B.C. has recently bought
a mandolin and I am looking forward to seeing him again this
year -- he and a lot more of those returning "old-timers"
who have heard about the new Bean Blossom.
Jim Peva
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