Knight says, “You talking to me?”
December 7, 2014
Yesterday, I finished cutting, splitting and hauling firewood for a man who I have known since childhood. His son and I are friends and have been for a very long time. The man’s son moved to a neighboring state. I told my friend not to worry that I would make sure his dad got his firewood in each year.
The man who gets the wood was a block mason. I have seen him grab a twelve-inch concrete block, mortar the edges and form a wall. He could do that all day long. His grip was like a vise. His arms looked like “Popeye’s”. He was one of the strongest men I even knew.
Today, those hands are crippled, worn from hard work and old age. The man is near eighty years old, but still cuts much of his firewood. He hunts and traps much of the winter, trudging through snow and mud satisfying his very soul. He is an inspiration to watch. He is a tough old bird who defies pain and a broken hand to accomplish anything he puts his mind to.
I take him a large pile of split and seasoned wood. This year’s loads were white oak and ash wood. The pieces are gnarly , twisted and hard. They burn long and hot and warm the old man’s hearth almost as much as my memories of him, warm my heart. Taking wood to him is an honor. I am glad it worked out this way. Keeping my word, is important to me, but this job has nothing to do with that… I get great pleasure from pulling up with a loaded trailer full of wood. The smile on the old man’s face says more than he ever could.
Thanks John, for letting me help your dad. My father has passed, this simple gesture of looking after this small job for your father, makes me feel good. I remember helping my dad and grandpa get wood for grandpa’s house. It was a good time. Helping your dad takes me back to that time. There is a lot of warmth in that wood…
Filed under: September 2014 | Tags: breast feeding, Draft horse, new-born, Promise, splendor, sunbeams, sunlight
Duke in the dawn’s early light
September 22, 2014
When I was a boy, I read in a copy of Reader’s Digest, a story about a man who related a story of his childhood. He had heard our National Anthem and in his mind the words “dawn’s early light” were melded into the words “daunserly light”. That kind of light, he reasoned was for extra special things like the sun on a new-born baby, or the afternoon hue that engulfs a new bride. Our flag, bathed in sunlight at the end of a long battle, was of course that kind of light.
I read that story in the Reader’s Digest and laughed out loud, because for years I had made that same observation! Surely, there must be some divine light know as daunserly! It simply had to be that way…after all they made a song about it, that thousands of people sing. I belted that phrase out many times in my childhood, never knowing I was doing it wrong.
In my adulthood, I still believe that there is such a light. Perhaps there is a different name for it, but I still see that doggone daunserly light! When the preacher is preaching and light through the stained glass bathes his face, Is that not daunserly? For sure it must be that light, when a new-born babe suckles his mother’s breast, as the early morning sun shines on them from a window. Or how about when the sun breaks through the fog in the middle of a forest and sheds light on a tiny seedling? Perhaps it is the hype, or maybe the beauty, I don’t know. I guess for me it is the splendor, the wonder and the promise of something great found on the sunbeams…. All I know is; that I love it!
Look close, there is a rainbow
June 25, 2014
Rain, rain, go away 😮 We are very wet here. Farming has stopped, at least for today. I am forced to work inside on a few things I really don’t want to do…but they need done too.
I will finish my “inside” list looking forward to getting back outside to all that awaits…even the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Lovely
A promise kept is a wonderful thing. A broken promise will shake a life. I try to always keep my word. There was a time, when all I had in this world was a $35.00 truck with no motor and my word. I found out just how valuable my word and good name was. I vowed to never compromise either.
The promise of spring is a wonderful thing. This year after a long old-fashioned winter, that promise warms my heart. The flowers are beginning to bloom, baby lambs are bouncing around the pasture and the grass is turning bright green. My hay is starting to run out…so come on grass…even if it means mowing the lawn!
RicelandMeadows 