Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Requiem For A Quiet Man

 

Growing up in the Arkansas Ozarks, I early on found out I had a love for history; the history of my people. It was passed down to me in short snippets, in stories told between the older generations that revolved around love, tragedy, learning experiences, or sometimes just comedic encounters or sayings. My Grandfather would often quote an older man around the house who would refer to vehicles as ‘PontiacFords’ and grin. But these snippets were often from people I never knew; who were gone far before my time. They will live eternal in story, of course, but their race was run before my birth so I never knew them in a physical sense. All these names and stories were so oft told that I began to know these people in a way, and I instinctively knew they were my people. Our family, our neighbors, our community; they left impressions (whether good or bad) on everyone in one way or another. However, when you get to grow up around people and get to know them, it’s different. You see, the Ozarks of an older time and place was gone, much like these lost souls before me; but I got to experience some of it, second hand, and through the stories of my ancestors, passed down. You see, giants walked through my childhood.

10 comments:

  1. The man sitting on the hood of the PontiacFord is the way, in
    my minds eye, a man is suppose to look.
    Not, for the most part, the men of today. Is that evolution or
    something else?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kind of quiet tonite. Maybe due to the high humidity.
    Just saying as the quietness is all around.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. quietness is all around.

      Same here and forgot where you live..?

      Delete
  3. Way out in the boonies of Madison Cnty. Don't hear any country
    critters scurrying around tonite. Not a breeze to be found.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) I doubt if you frequent Asheville. :)

      Delete
    2. No men under 30 in Mars Hill.

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    3. Interesting and I see the population is about 2,000.

      Delete
  4. Asheville is quickly becoming a major armpit of NC similar to Durham and such. Next door to me and let it burn.

    ReplyDelete