a sad day

Today I'll have to lay the humor aside. Dorothy's Aunt Susie lays in her bed at the nursing home with probably a few hours left of her life. She and her husband Uncle Chester (who passed away a few years ago) lived their entire lives on a dirt road 10 miles from town. They lived an uncomplicated life amid a very complicated world. One day Dorothy and I went to help them cut fire wood. Uncle Chester got out his chain saw which was twice the size of mine and those two elderly people outworked us. It was not unusual for Aunt Susie to kill Copperhead snakes with a hatchet. Uncle Chester would complain that she was dulling the edge on his axe. I wonder about the future of our country as these strong minded people leave us. Our grand children are being deprived of models for strength of character, resilience, and determination. Yes, Aunt Susie, even your stubbornness taught the rest of us the value of standing our ground and never giving up. And we thank you for that.