The Heavenly Wind Chime

I could not imagine having my very own wind chime. I could not explain the reason my Papaw decided that I should own a wind chime. As a child I thought, yeah, wonderful, he gave me a wind chime. Gee thanks so much. But, as I pulled it out of the box that my Papaw carefully wrapped the wind chime in, the sound was beyond anything that my young ears had ever heard.

This magical moment of sound was forever embedded into my sub-conscious. I have often thought back to that moment, looking up at that wind chime and hearing for the first time the most beautiful music that can only be described as "Heavenly". A quick glance up at my Papaw's eyes, glistening with tears, and I new something special had happened to change my life forever.

That Heavenly wind chime profoundly affected me. For some strange reason it gave me a new sense of well being. I felt totally safe and at peace when it chimed. I think my Papaw knew that home was not a safe place for me. In his own way, I believe he was giving me some of his strength that I could carry with me, to fall upon for courage when times were trying. All I know with certainty is that Heavenly wind chime many a time helped me though troubled times of not knowing where to go or how to get there. When confused, lonely, afraid, or just needing a lift, all I had to do was listen to my heavenly wind chime from my Papaw.

Years passed and I learned a great deal of useful things from my Papaw. We planted rows and rows of tomatoes, each having to be hand watered from fifty gallon barrels, set on top a wooden skid pulled by a worn out tractor, filled with water that had to be hand pumped from a nearby water well. We made weekly trips to the chicken house to ring the necks of roosters. We would place a huge black iron kettle on the burning embers to bring the water to boil, while we waited for the blood to drain from the throats of the chickens. The smell of the feather's being burnt off the chickens is still in my nostrils. Then we were off to the house to finish cleaning and packing the chicken's to place in the freezer.

The hogs were loud as we threw the corn cobs and scrapes from the supper table into their troughs. We sprinkled lime on the plies of new potatoes in the potato bend. Together, with ever a keen eye, my Papaw and I hoed acres of purple hull peas and butter beans.
I dragged behind me a toe sack that stretched a good four feet be hide me, down a row of crowder peas that seemed to never end.

These were a few of the things I learned from my Papaw, hard work lends to a good nights sleep, always pop that blister, wood rats are huge, gofers don't belong in the garden, opossums hiss and have sharp teeth, hogs are nasty, nothing beats fried chicken, purple hull peas, cornbread, mashed potatoes and gravy, served with slices of tomatoes, green onions, and iced tea.



Author: Teresa Richardson, Owner
http://www.itsaboutchime.com