As I grow older, seems I am attending more and more funerals, memorial services, etc.
I recently attended a graveside service for what was one of my best friends, when we were youngsters … but over the years, the past 40, 50, 60 years, he and several of his siblings migrated south, not that faraway but, it was like another world.
I met some of his children and grandchildren, siblings, I listened to them and to the speaker at the service, about his work habits, others spoke of his family, and his health, as he aged. At the burial site, I looked around and recalled the days when as youngster we played in the nearby woods, built huts out of limbs and pine straw or used downed limbs to lean against a healthy tree for our teepee. … We were in our own make believe world … and, at that moment, I thought about other members of his family, some deceased, some much younger than me that I did not know … about other friends who attended that service, some I seldom see. … I dreamed of yesteryear and how fortunate I was to live as I did, where I did with, just wish I could have spent more time with them as an adult.
Our families “swapped” labor at harvest time. … We were sharecroppers, their family lived there early days on a small farm. … They were our best friends. …. We moved on, made new friends, raised families and worked in our chosen field. But, an occasional reminder helps to remind of us of how fortunate we were … a time when we were not judged by our wealth … there was barely enough to survive on … not judged by political affiliation … just friends living in our own little world. … Rest well my friend…
Life was not easy, but one of his siblings reminded me that their mom lived to be a hundred years old … And I remember their dad and have made the statement that his world was as far as he could see from his rocking chair on their front porch to the nearby woods. … Beyond that was not his problem. … Sometimes I wish I was more like him…
Back to the real world … move timepieces forward one-hour before you go to bed tonight so you will be on time for church Sunday morning…
Should be a good day, weatherwise. Sunny, with a high near 56, north wind 10 to 15 mph with gust as high as 21 mph. Clear tonight with a low around 29 degrees.
Some quote from 50s and 60s:
“Made in the Shade”
“Everything is Copacetic”
“You’re a Cool Cat”
“Let’s burn some rubber”
robert g hester
rgh4612@gmail.com
910-876-2322
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