I shall never forget the joy of that young child, when my Great Grandfather lifted me up for my first & only ride.. sitting beside him.. later that same day, He was to come looking for me, when he discovered that I had gone climbing to barn's rooftop. He called me to come down by addressing me as "boy". You have no idea, the terror I felt, creeping backwards down the slop of a barn's rooftop, to the sound of his strong, reassuring voice, finally to find that strip of wood over the edge to step on, then to fall backwards into his arms.. We both giggled with laughter, for we both were, after all, the same as one, blood kin. It was I who was given the chore to awaken him from his lunch time nap, only to find him slopped over, his chin at a sharp angle upon his chest, hand rolled smoke, burned down to the flesh of his fingers. I ran back to the front porch calling.
I knew something was wrong.. I remember standing over his grave in the churchyard, saying good bye..
To this day, I have never been lost, in finding my way back to his resting place. Within a short span of that circle lies so many of my relations.
