MAPLE CREEK MEMORIES XX
UP THE BRANCH
Part IV
DEDICATION
This collection of memories is dedicated to Karen and Ron, Mike and Tammy, Kristen, Christopher, Katelyn, Benjamin, Michelle and Erin--children and spouses and all six of the grandchildren, all of whom inspire me to do what I enjoy doing--writing. And especially to Mary, my wonderful wife who puts up with me everyday, and keeps me as sane as I am.
PREFACE
UP THE BRANCH
So.
Here I am.
And what has it been, forty years or more since I last stood on this road? Sure, I've driven past it hundreds of times on my way here or there during that time? I've even driven over it a number of times, but have never gotten out and walked on it, like I did when I was a kid, for too long.
But here I am.
And I'm so glad that you chose to be with me today. Having a grandchild with me today just makes this trip extra special. I would have enjoyed it on my own, but you add so much to the occasion, for memories are better when shared with someone you love. And you other folks can join us if you want to share in those memories.
Come along, and let me tell you some things I remember as we walk up the branch. And you know that each memory that comes will bring another one. And probably not in the order in which it occurred, either. But let's start up the branch and discover were I used to live and what may have made me the person I am today. We won't walk fast, we've got all day.
You don't need to say anything, unless you want to. I'll do the talking--I always am, anyway. And, sometimes, I'm going to forget that you are here beside me and just ramble on. I'll stop here and there, to rest and remember. Most of the places that I'll stop at are very dear to my memories. And a few of those memories are so special, I'll probably just not share them with you--I'll just stop and smile--and you will know then that I am happy.
You will have memories like that too, my child. When you get a little more age on you. But stay a child as long as you can. And when you are all grown up, you will have those wonderful memories to last you the rest of your life.
A wise man once said that youth is wasted on the young. From an old mans' perspective, he may have been right. But I would not want to be young again without the knowledge that I have gained by growing older, and the memories that keep me company. And you children are what keeps me forever young, if not in body, at least in spirit. To hear your voices, to share your hopes and plans, your dreams--what more could a grandfather ask for?
So walk with me for a spell. Indulge me for a while. Perhaps we will both be richer for it.
Papaw
(Final date here)
Part IV
DEDICATION
This collection of memories is dedicated to Karen and Ron, Mike and Tammy, Kristen, Christopher, Katelyn, Benjamin, Michelle and Erin--children and spouses and all six of the grandchildren, all of whom inspire me to do what I enjoy doing--writing. And especially to Mary, my wonderful wife who puts up with me everyday, and keeps me as sane as I am.
PREFACE
UP THE BRANCH
So.
Here I am.
And what has it been, forty years or more since I last stood on this road? Sure, I've driven past it hundreds of times on my way here or there during that time? I've even driven over it a number of times, but have never gotten out and walked on it, like I did when I was a kid, for too long.
But here I am.
And I'm so glad that you chose to be with me today. Having a grandchild with me today just makes this trip extra special. I would have enjoyed it on my own, but you add so much to the occasion, for memories are better when shared with someone you love. And you other folks can join us if you want to share in those memories.
Come along, and let me tell you some things I remember as we walk up the branch. And you know that each memory that comes will bring another one. And probably not in the order in which it occurred, either. But let's start up the branch and discover were I used to live and what may have made me the person I am today. We won't walk fast, we've got all day.
You don't need to say anything, unless you want to. I'll do the talking--I always am, anyway. And, sometimes, I'm going to forget that you are here beside me and just ramble on. I'll stop here and there, to rest and remember. Most of the places that I'll stop at are very dear to my memories. And a few of those memories are so special, I'll probably just not share them with you--I'll just stop and smile--and you will know then that I am happy.
You will have memories like that too, my child. When you get a little more age on you. But stay a child as long as you can. And when you are all grown up, you will have those wonderful memories to last you the rest of your life.
A wise man once said that youth is wasted on the young. From an old mans' perspective, he may have been right. But I would not want to be young again without the knowledge that I have gained by growing older, and the memories that keep me company. And you children are what keeps me forever young, if not in body, at least in spirit. To hear your voices, to share your hopes and plans, your dreams--what more could a grandfather ask for?
So walk with me for a spell. Indulge me for a while. Perhaps we will both be richer for it.
Papaw
(Final date here)
posted by tanstaafl | 6:54 AM
6 Comments:
Beautiful.....
Hey Dad, if you want to literally go walking down memory lane, give me a call--I'll go with you......
I take that walk in my mind every day. But for actually getting down and putting one foot after the other, I'm afraid my old body is just not up to the amount of time it would take to ramble over that old hollow and those hills I love so well. Besides that, a lot of the people you meet in my stories are still there, or their kids, or grandkids. So you can imagine how long that would really take.
Thanks for the kind words, and even more so for the offer. Maybe when you get me that newfangled electric scooter we can make that jaunt.
It's beautiful, thanks for posting it. I'm not sure there's a better thing to do for your family than write memories down.
Oh! And the newfangled scooter, lol. Father's day is just around the bend. Maybe go for one of those electric power assist bicycles. I've been thinking about one of those for my aunt...she loves to get out but her bicycle is getting to be a little tough for her. Drop big hints, lol. Walmart has them online for not too much at all, really, for people who really enjoy being outside.
Me, I've been drooling over the Schwinn adult tricycle. I just can't figure out how a tricycle would fit on a trunk rack.
With difficulty, i imagine.
Back when Kelsie was a freshman in college, we took her to the dorm from home with her 26" ten speed tied onto the hood of our car. Really looked stupid, but we got it there without a scratch--to it or the car. I still have that bike in my garage, along with Mike's, an older one of Kelsie's and a few for the grandkids. One of these days we'll have a bike sale.
You're doing the same thing I plan to do this summer for my kids. There's no one else left to tell them about growing up in a small town that was the center of a small farming community. We need to write these things down before we're gone. They may not appreciate them now, but in 40 years your grandchildren will be glad you did this, I bet.
Then one of my goals will have been achieved. Too few people these days take the time to sit and talk with their kids about the past, they are too taken up with trying to make a future for them. But the future is theirs, and your past is an important part of their history and does have an impact upon their future. Since time is so precious to us all, a written record they can read at their leisure will give them a better sense of where you were at some times. And they will begin to realize that, instead of being that restrictive old man who made them work for their future, you had the same experiences they have had and still turned out to be a pretty good old guy, one they would like to have known a little better, one who was more interested in their future than in correcting their bad habits.
I was very fortunate to have had a grandfather who was a storyteller, a man who had little book learning, but had a wealth of knowledge to pass on to his grandchildren. He told me of the first automobile he ever saw, the first job at public work he had and the trials of a farm boy who suddenly had to do something that was completely foreign to him, and how he reacted to that strangeness. He told me of his courtship in the very early 1900's, and of the beauty that my grandmother was. And of how she made him feel to be her beau. And how difficult it was to raise a bunch of kids during the days of WWI and then the Roaring Twenties. Of the Great Depression and of the time when a chip flew off the machine and blinded him in his best eye.
I still grieve for that old man and all the things he went through, but I glory in the fact that he never lost his faith in God. But most of all, I am proud to be the grandson of that old man. He taught me ethical behavior, more so than any other person. And he taught me through his stories--a lesson I have never forgotten. I enjoy writing, and I enjoy telling my stories, trite as some of them are. He also taught me to write poetry. And my best poetry is about him, or at least about his ideas.
Now, for the worst part. When you begin to write your personal remembrances, you are going to cry every now and then. I guarantee you will. But they will be tears of joy as you remember more than you could ever possibly set down on paper. If done right, and early enough, and your kids read them early enough in their life, they will come and ask you some questions you really won't want to answer, they are just too personal. But go ahead and give them the true answer. They will understand, and you will be much more the hero than you think you are.
And as they grow a little older, the questions and answers will begin to come with a knowing nod and smile. From them as they begin to see what made you the man you are--and from you as you see the maturation process in them.
Good luck on your project. Bet it takes you a lot more time than you think!
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