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Show flutter ft ; (Rainbow f & SA Point In Beiweenv,1 i BY r P CAR0L LEM0N There's something about 'Going Home' that stirs the heart and never gets old. My Granddad celebrated his 93rd birthday -last weekend, week-end, and most of his 145 descendants came to pay their respects. His father was one of the original settlers of the little town of Pine Canyon, near Tooele, and the old homestead home-stead was home for all of his own eight children, the one adopted, and a niece and nephew who lost their parents. par-ents. .' When I first came to Utah and the Farm I thought it was a wonderful place. All during my growing up years in San Francisco, I had dreamed of the day that I would live on a 'Ranch' have a horse, a dog, etc., etc., etc. Now, all of a sudden, I had them all. Cradled in the arms of the mountains, I could look across the valley val-ley and see the Great Salt Lake shimmering on the horizon. In the winter, these Utah folks actually had snow! And I thought theivhite stuff was terriffic. Sometimes the clouds would sit heavily on the mountains and ponder wheth er they should drop their load or not and in sum -mer, lightning crackled and thunder roared as I trembled trem-bled in my bed. I'd follow Grandpa all over the farm. . . talking continuously con-tinuously as we fed the rabbits, rab-bits, the lambs gathered gath-ered the eggs, milked the cow, or worked in the fields. In the beginning we hauled hay with a horse and wagon, and a fewtimeslwas stranded strand-ed atop an extra tall load, and thought surely I'd be stuck up there forever. But at his counsel to close my eyes and slide off, I did and though covered with this -ties and weeds, I made it. I was shocked at Butchering Butch-ering time, when the whole family would gather to help "Do in" the pigs, lambs, calves and roosters, that had been so contentedly accepting ac-cepting my pats and hugs. I couldn't watch and when the other grandkids played play-ed ball with the inflated pig's bladder I thought I'd seen it all! What more horrible thing could there be? But as the hams were smoked, meat stocked in the freezer, shelves filled with the bounty of barnyard and garden, I began to realize that perhaps it was part of the plan, after all. Very rarely did Grandpa Grand-pa loose ' his temper about . anything. 'Oh Shoot', was about his worst swear word, and he carefully fulfilled his obligations and duties to his church and fellowman. His number one concern was his family. And even ; today,-; it 'isn't the' "State of the Union or even the State of the World' that matters mat-ters most it's the State of the Family. I don't know if I'll make it to 93. . . and I'm not sure I want to. But if I do, I hope I can grow old with grace, and dignity, and always contribute something to life, as he has done. The years have taken their toll on all of us. We've gone our separate ways .None of us is the same child we once were. But just as the bud is locked in the heart of the Rose that child still dwells somewhere in each of us. Our own private computer keeps the memory bright and beautiful. beauti-ful. I sometimes wish I could be that child once more, babbling at Grandpa's slde-safe, slde-safe, warm and secure in the shelter of his love. Time will pass, but it will never dim the memory of the way we were and the way it was Back home. |
