Nostalgia

It's been a while since I had such a sudden wave of nostalgia. It kind of blindsided me...came out of nowhere.

Ever since we got married, Nan and I have reserved Friday nights for our date night. Sometimes things get in the way and we miss a week, but even then, we try to have a make-up night.

I don't do movies often, so most of our dates center around one of our favorite restaurants. Nan always likes this best, as she likes to spend money on food rather than some other form of entertainment. Often, one or the other of our children will accompany us. It's a pleasure for us to have them there and I hope they feel the same.

My parents were the same way. I don't think they could afford to go out to dinner as often as we do, but I know they enjoyed the time together. From time to time we would join them. It was a special time for us. After mom passed away, we made a special effort to include dad for these outings.

This evening, sitting at our table, Nan and I were enjoying our meal. There was a young couple sitting at a table not far from us. I think they had three children with them. At any rate, there were a couple of empty chairs at the table. The young mother kept glancing at the door, and eventually she smiled and greeted an older couple who I presume were her parents. It was probably the young mom's birthday as the parents left a gift in front of her.

Memories of the times with my parents flooded my mind. They were kind and thoughtful people. I looked at Nan and she knew what I was thinking...must have been something in the air that made my eyes water.

The Farmer and The Bandit

Because my neighbor was hauling some equipment when I was finished with my irrigation turn, I told him I would turn the water on his large field when it was time...It's the kind of thing neighbors do.
Having adjusted the stream of water, I started to walk back across the field. I heard a rustle in the alfalfa and turned just in time to face the little bandit. He was running about ten feet away and stopped in his tracks when I turned to look. I'm not sure which of us was the most surprised.
He must have been hiding in one of the irrigation pipes because he was soaked to the skin and looked like a drowned rat.
I thought of the board laying by the head gate about twenty feet away. I could always give him a whack with that if I could just get to it in time. He must have read my mind, because he bolted that way trying to get to it first. My sore knees just wouldn't move that fast.
Instead of stopping for a fight, he crawled through the fence and disappeared into the brush.
There I stood, waving a 2X4 club at nothing.
The family of raccoons, that have been eating some of the corn patches around the neighborhood, must be sitting around their family room rolling on the floor laughing as he told his side of the story... some gimpy old geezer running, trying to keep up with him...