"Sure do like ol' Frank."

Grandma talk for Sunday:
I went with Grandma to Sunday school again and it was great as usual. On our way out the door in the morning there were eight large turkeys meandering around the field right behind the house. The hay is growing up tall enough now that I guess they feel protected again out in the fields and its good to see them hanging out so close to the house. I bet now that Lance and Troy and Josh and Tyler and the never-ending bag of fireworks are gone now too it’s a little quieter and they are daring to venture back into the fields. I have a picture I took of them that I would post right now but I’m in Memphis as we speak and don’t have the cord to connect up my camera. More on Memphis later…
Pastor Miller took me to a different Sunday school class than I went to last time- the young adults this time instead of the college aged kids- and I think I’m going to go back to the college kids. The class I went to was all young adults who are married and either have kids, are expecting kids, or are trying to have kids. I realized what I think I already knew which is that once you have a kid your entire life revolves around them. Everything you relate to is in the language of children, the stories of children, the hazards of children, the lack of sleep, yada yada, and it all seems great but I am trying to embrace my youth and it startled me. There is an older couple that teaches the class, the Smith’s, and they are very good and solid folk. When I got there everyone was already talking baby and the buzz was that one of the couples, who weren’t there yet, had their prayers answered and word was they were pregnant. I was a silent observer with a big smile on my face through most of this, and then the couple everyone was talking about arrived and walked in a few minutes late. How I knew it was them was because the first thing the Mr. said as he came through the door with his wife was, “We’ve got a bun in the oven! This Sunday School prayer request is incredible!”
It was a good experience, and I see why everyone always said Dad did nothing but talk about his kids, to the point where it inspired the people who worked for him and around him to be better father’s and mothers, but I’m not quite there yet. He told me to be young first, and I’ve read William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, and I know the day will come. No need to rush. I’ve got plenty of time.
Then we broke into smaller groups and read the passage for the week, something from Exodus about loyalty to God when the Israelites were in the desert eating manna for forty years, and I saw that everyone in the way they relate to the passage is in terms of lessons they’ve learned from trying to be parents. The world and the words of the world really do work differently when you’re a parent. It’s kind of nice to come to see how the Bible can still work on a real simple level for people, and still really work. I realized I think I’m coming back around to liking country music again too, because it’s simple and it’s fun. The only reason I stopped listening to country music in the first place all those years back was because I got into more complicated musical arrangements and improvised moments that took a lot of focus and attention and patient listening to feel the power of the whole node of music, and its complicated, see? Well this year I’m taking it back to the simple things, and country music is sweet and simple. Funny how all these things come together in the strangest of places.
After church I took Grandma to the Golden Rule BBQ and she had her first fried pickle. 89 and still trying new things, what a Grandma. She had this real pretty green outfit on- green dress, green purse, green earrings and even green shoes. When I told her she looked real nice she told me, “Well I haven’t dressed to go out in so long. Since Frank had his stroke I guess, and I just didn’t know what to wear. I wasn’t sure if they were still wearing heels like this so I got out one of those catalogs and sure enough, they had a pair of green heels in there just like these so I figured I best just go ahead and put ‘em on.” So precious. She actually checked the catalog she’s been getting in the mail for fifty years to see if her fashion was still up to date. That reminds me I also met the Avon lady the other day, the same Avon lady that’s been coming’ by to see Grandma for 55 years she said. So classic. Before we left the Golden Rule an older couple from Grandma and Pop’s Sunday school class came up stopped by the table to tell her how glad they were to see her back at church.
“Sure do like ol' Frank, he was a might fine man. I remember when we moved out to our house he just stopped by one day with that machine of his and grated our driveway or somethin’. I can’t remember what he did exactly, I just remember thinkin’, ‘How did he even know we needed that done?’ He had some sixth sense or somethin’. Sure do like old Frank. He’s a real good man, ol’ Frank, I tell you what.”
Grandma introduced them to me and he started talking again about Pop and said, “I’ll go ahead and say it again, if you need anything- give us a call.”
To which Grandma said, “Well I would but Cole here’s been an angel. I told him last night I just wanted an egg and a piece of toast if he was going to cook breakfast this morning, and sure enough when I woke up there was a note sayin’ Egg and toast in the microwave, I’m in the shower.’” There is an incredible type of joy that comes from being sported by your Grandmother, I hope everyone gets a chance to feel that. “We really get to hear about the world from this one!” she said.
“Well I was gonna say I was worried about ya Mary but I see you’re in good hands. Sure is good to see you round church again, take care.” As they left Grandma remembered, “They were in the carpet business. You coulda had quite a conversation with ‘em if I’d remembered in time, shooo!” (See Brooks’ blog Subtle Being for the connection to carpet here.)
Sunday afternoon I drove up to Memphis to see Lauren and support her in her art endeavors. She has an art show going up here that runs through July and I wanted to come and be supportive. It’s hard in this world of practical tracts to find other people willing to go out on a limb and be “artists” so to speak. We gotta stick together, someone has to keep dreaming for the rest of us. Dear heavenly father, thank you for the blessings we receive and the space to reflect the universe gives us when we are ready and willing to really dig in deep and squeeze out the meaning of things.
Lauren’s house is amazing. She’s got about 18 acres, a pond, a big ol’ garden Brooks would be jealous of, and we saw three deer yesterday, and I got to see Yoshi again! Yoshi is quite a dog, spunky as ever. His hair is cut now and he looks like Tory, our old welsh terrier, only a little bigger and lighter hair. It’s amazing how much I appreciate being included in families these days. I always seem to have some profound insight into myself talking to friend’s parents over home cooked meals. I can’t thank all of you enough for that.
Lauren’s taking an American History class at the University of Memphis so I dropped her off and entertained myself for a bit, then we did a full day of Memphis. Ate lunch at Huey’s, went to Beale street, the Peabody hotel with all the ducks, and even went to Graceland, home of the King. We watched Jesus Christ Superstar the night before and it all seemed such a fitting lace. Hmm, the love of the people is hard sometimes.
Now I’m back in Starbucks while Lauren’s in class and this afternoon we’re going to go see here show, then back the farm tomorrow for more Grandma porch time before Montana on Saturday. I’m afraid I’m going to have to turn in my computer to the Apple store today to have the port plug-in for the internet fixed, so hopefully I’ll find a way to keep updating. Photos are on back log though, so the turkeys and the deer and the duckies will be up coming. Today we’ll pull some from the archives… (at the Willie Nelson concert in Big Sky a few years back, at Bozo Funhouse, Jud’s fish from the lake that now resides at the Wesley’s lakehouse)