Wandering

My mind wandered an awfully lot during work today.

Yesterday my Dad lost his 2nd “little” brother in just 3 months. That was his last brother. My thoughts and prayers of comfort are with all of us who knew my Uncles, especially their direct families. They were amazing men.

Primarily the memories that came into my mind were from my early years. I remember playing at Uncle Jims. The sand pit and machine shed were always some of the best places to have fun as a 10 year old. I remember being part of a load in a couple of Ford pick-ups; full loads of kids from their place and heading over to Grindstone Lake to swim and then on to Hardees. I remember deer hunting at Jim’s and eating cheerios at their kitchen table. It was always such a beautiful view out the large patio door looking to the East. I remember talking for hours about hunting, guns, and reloading with Uncle Jim. I especially remember the story he told me about his first deer with the muzzleloader. I was motived by his story and started to muzzleloader hunt myself.

I remember Uncle Dicks place; playing in their barn. Watching the chickens and sheep. Uncle Dick’s was the only farm I visited that had sheep so they always caught my interest as a youth. I remember, not too long ago, bowhunting at Dick’s place. When I was successful he came over with his tractor and we lifted the deer high into the air to drain the animal. I remember a story he told me about homemade arrows and cutting his finger from them. I remember him telling me that “If I could do it all over again, I would be a machinist.” I later became a machinist.

I also thought about my Mom and Dad and all the times we drove to either farm for various reasons.

My memories are but a drop in a bucket compared to others in my family, especially my Dad, his sister and the direct families of Jim and Dick. I cannot imagine all the memories my own Dad has of his brothers and sister. With the 70 plus years of memories, I am sure Dad’s mind has been wandering also.