Rural Texas

Tears - or lack of them

We had an open shed like this for equipment
on the farm when I was a Kid in western NY
state. It faced East, of course, away from the
prevailing winds. Well, along about 1950-51
a freak hurricane came way up the coast and
turned inland, lifted the shed off its foundation,
carried it halfway to the house. We had had
some terrible luck the last couple of years
before that: Dad's heart attack that he barely
survived [and unbeknownst to us he wasn't
expected to survive more than three years,
and didn't]. The loss of the lower farm barns
in a fire. When the shed was destroyed that
was the only time I saw my dad cry.

During that intervening period between heart
attacks my dad showed me more love, then
he died. One of my older brothers told me
not to cry and make it harder on mom, so I
didn't. When they both died around fifty,
same age range as dad, I didn't cry for them
either, nor for my mom in that period when
they died, nor later when my oldest brother
and sister died. They were both old and sick
by that time. So... I have one sister left.
She's so religious it's - you know, but she's
happy. She cried a few years back when I
asked her to please stop. I wasn't ever
gonna be a Christian. 

If it's ok with you, Sher, I'd like to post this
along with your 'shed' photo, please. pip