I caught up with Cannonball on the beach today, much to my delight. I can only catch him when my timing is right. He wakes up early in the morning, like the farmer he claims he used to be. I think he still is what he was, and probably always will be. He was part of an Indiana bumper crop when our farms were at their peak. He even learned to drive a tractor on the banks of Treaty Creek. He grew up with too much church, but it didn’t make him mean. He’s traveled enough to appreciate all the things he’s seen. He married a woman who made him a better man and he stuck with her through thick and thin as only a better man can. They built a family and loved one another for more than fifty years. You can bet they had their joys and they surely cried some tears. Love and loss happens to farmers just like everyone else. The difference is they don’t blame anyone, except too often themselves.
© 2024 John Calu
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