Saturday, June 13, 2009

The Old Man

The old man disappeared a few months back. His ancient Lincoln Continental, with its glossy finish gone flat and peeling from years in the sun, was always parked in the driveway. Every day, as I passed by on my early morning walk, I picked up his newspaper and put it on the trunk of the car so he wouldn't have to bend down so far.

The old man's yard was unique to him. Two beautiful cherry trees heralded each spring's return, their lowest branches adorned with hanging baskets full of faded plastic blossoms. A garden of pinwheels stood at the foot of one. He had a sense of whimsy.

The old man disappeared a few months back. The Lincoln is gone--a neighbor parks his car in the empty driveway now. The garden is overgrown, but the pinwheels, hidden in the knee high grass, remind me that the old man had once been there and I smile.

5 comments:

chloe said...

Your post made me smile and made me cry. Your post read like the beginning of a book I would like to curl up and read... I wanted to know more about this beautiful man that left his mark with his whimsical faded flowers and pinwheels.

Laura Livengood said...

Susan, I loved this...thank you. It reminded me of the gentleman elders in my neighborhood, the ones who walk around and check out what's going on, never in a hurry, always glad to stop and chat...until the day they don't stop by any more. Makes me feel grateful for all the time I had this winter for leaning-on-the shovel chats with them, while I built my front garden.

Bill Kisich said...

Very nice, Susan.

colin said...

Hi,
I must say this entire site is amazing and very inspirational...love the photos!!

You must be very proud of yourself.

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