In 1954, we lost the last of the First Generation Americans the same year that it was his parents 100th wedding anniversary. I consider it a good thing that he couldnt remember the fact that the Church he grew up in ceased to exist for his region, leaving the only one in Weatherford to show that it was even there. the services are now spoken in English, leaving only the plaques outside the doors and the buildings themselves to show what was once there, along with what pictures that pop up every once in awhile of the people who went to services in places that there are now empty lots, other buildings, or a cemetery marking a spot where people once came to worship God on Sunday. Some people ask why Im so interested in people who are dead, who Ive never met, and all I can think is Why wouldnt I be? Why wouldnt learn something from them, of what they lived thru that can still be used now? I like hearing stories about them other than knowing the dates of birth, marriage, and death that would be more than enough for other people. But that doesnt make who they were really. The stories do. What they were like around people, what they did with their lives, how they thought of others than just themselves. People who build Churches of their own when their is none, then leave to others, you hope that they make it, and cry when they dont, wishing that they had. I can look at the pictures of him, of the few that there are of his family with the one of him smiling near the end, knowing that he was happy, just as Grandma was smiling with him. Do you even realize at how rare those are, to see someone smile when it was serious stuff to someone who grew up during the time that took more time to get your picture taken more than it does now? Its better than reading books to know the bits and pieces of a persons life on what we can only read about now, to get a sense of who they were than just a name. The standard raised by him with his own sons that he had with his parents is still going on, whether it be with daughters or not, but the sons. . . Those are a rarity nowadays that I sometimes wonder about, if weve lost anything since he left and went Home. Im sure some things are gone, but hopefully enough remains that were not doing that bad of a job that he wouldnt be yelling at us, saying that were doing it wrong. I can almost see that in my head, of him and Granddaddy both doing it, showing the few smiles that I almost didnt catch and see, but knew that were there. Men like that nowadays are more than just gems or diamonds, theyre priceless. You dont see them anymore, and the few that you do, the women married to them are damn lucky, making the rest of us hope that we too can be that lucky! To some, they wonder why that has anything to do with someone who has been gone for 50 years, but think about it. Did that person, even if they never met you, have something to do with how you were raised? Id say yes. I say yes. Thats why it matters so much, when to others, it wouldnt matter at all. Ive surprised people with what Ive said about working, people who grew up around the time that the Standard was last enforced, when now, its just sporadic but somehow still expected. Which is just stupid. . . So why wouldnt I look to the Past at people in my own family and wonder what I can still learn from them that I havent yet? Do we not learn from stories anyway?
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 19:08:43 +0000
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