Perhaps there is
some connection between living daily among the broad vistas and
natur
al beauty
of the Ozark hills, and a tendency to reflect. In this collection of
pieces, written over a period of several years, you will find the
reflections of a countryman who, even in the mature years of his life, harbors
a rich awe for life on this planet. You will also discover in these
writings, a strong sense of place as the author recalls his repatriation to
the place of his boyhood in rural Maries County, Missouri. Local
personalities, old stories, a smattering of poetry, and reflections on some
extraordinary travel adventures are also here. Many of the pieces were
written for the local historical society publication.
"What
has happened to these people?
Where did they go and why?
Was it a hard thing to 
leave the land along Dry Creek into which they
had breathed a simple life?
Did that ground which had felt their scuff and sweat fade gradually
from their memory?
As a boy, I became aware that these farms were empty.
Most of the people had moved to the city.
I sensed the depth of the ruin as those boys my age were forced into
tight little yards on asphalt streets.
I understood their dull obedience as life-long chums were suddenly
exchanged for hordes of new kids in big, brick schools, all speaking
unfamiliar dialect, gushing with happenings that, until the country faded
and the city engulfed them, had no meaning.
How did they remember Dry Creek?
Home?"
"For
many of my generation, what at last remains from our days at one-room, dirt road
schools are those pungent, tenacious images. Many are crisp memories that are sweet and round and tangy to
the tongue as an apple picked from the tree in fall."
-
Discover
the legend of Cedar Grove, Missouri, a town that is now only a faint trace
on the flat ridge up over Dry Creek.
-
Follow
the span of time (in dog years) from boyhood to manhood as measured by those
special friends.
-
Taking
the leap from city careers back to the gentle hills.
The perils and the promise.
-
Remember
when you had to make a report to the class when you were away from school
with your family?
-
Recounted
images of school days down a dusty road to a single room school.
-
Our
jaunt up the coast of Norway on a supply ship together with recently freed
East Germans. Following the
Nazi war path.
-
Old
stories from only a radius of 2 miles from home. Old Red and his hermit cave up Clifty Creek; the poisoning
at the Montague cabin.
-
Old
Chief Patchiho knew where there was forty pony load of gold buried but
wouldnt tell. Maybe it was
up under the bluff.
-
Old
dogs and poetry: providing some comfort to an aged and blind parent.
-
12
secrets of love and happiness. Details
inside
well, maybe.
-
Memories
of a youth spent stranded in the woods far from town. The stuff of imagination.
-
And
there is plenty more. 268
pages. Remembered stories,
local history, travel reports, personal reflections, our life in the Ozark
hills, musings on the wonder of consciousness and simply existing on this
planet, experiences in operating our country, dirt road business in the
hills.
