7-22-10...Daydreams of Yesterday With Gratitude
It seems like most days now I go running down that dirt road that leads to a dead end. There is black shale on that road and I am barefoot. I don't notice the sharp shale grinding in to my feet or that my feet have become black and maybe hot from the sunshine. All I see is two houses to the left of me and a train going by on the track at the very end. The house's are very close, In hollering distance. There might be a couple of kids in each yard but most likely there will be four kids in one of the yards together. Sometimes those kids might be squabbling over something but most times they are laughing and playing together.
As I get a little closer my heart beats in anticipation and fills with longing to hurry and be there in their midst. A big Collie dog with a limp comes to welcome me with his tail wagging so fast that his whole body is moving.
At the second house I see a woman on the porch calling to the kids to come on in “supper's ready”. She doesn't have to persuade them much, they've been playing hard all day and they are hungry.
I think to myself, Well she didn't ask me but she looks so welcoming I know she won't mind so I go on in and get ready for supper with all the rest. There are some more folks who also come to the door and they are welcomed as the Woman says 'Sit down and I'll get you a plate. There is plenty.
There is a square home made table that I know that kind tired looking man made with his hammer, hand saw, and nails. An oilcloth is covering the rough lumber. It has yellow daisies covering it and I think it is so pretty.
On the table is a large pan of pinto beans with some kind of meat in them sometimes but usually not. There is a huge bowl of fried potatoes and I know no one will ever fry potatoes as good as those. A big skillet of cornbread sits on a dishrag piping hot, a bowl of red sliced onions and that is usually all there is.
The floor of the kitchen is not level. In fact the table is slanted so far on the uneven floor that the girl knocks over a glass of something and it runs right down in to the lap of the man across from her. He jumps up and the lady starts cleaning up the mess.
I'm thinking, Boy that girl is in trouble now but strangely the man and woman just smile at her and say “Eat your supper honey, and be more careful”.
What a beautiful scene all of this is as it flashes through my mind. So real that I can feel the dirt on my feet and smell the beans and cornbread, fried taters and red onions. Only to realize that here I sit looking out at a very different scene, and none of that is real. Kind of sad until I remember that I can go again anytime I wish and once again be drawn in to that wonderful place that I can call mine. This makes me smile as my heart fills with such wonderful memories of a place exactly like that. Knowing that I grew up there and it all was and is mine makes me overflow with gratitude.
