THE BARN PAGE 2a by mitch, 13 Dec. 1999

As I said, the old  man didn't see an ancient old horse or an old barn falling down from age. In his memory he saw a dappled gray mare with a shiny coat that glistened in the bright summer sun. She stood there with her head held high and alert. The mare stood  in front of a well built barn that was painted bright red and its' roof was covered with heavy cedar shakes. As the man looked on, he saw everything with the eyes of the young man he once was. He remembered how he and his faithful mare had both shed their good sweat working in the fields. How fine it was to return to the barnyard after a hard days work in the fields. After removing the mare from its' harness and taking care of its' needs, he would go to the horse trough where he would strip to the waist and wash the sweat and dust from his strong young body. In those days there was no need for him to worry about having a poor appetite.       On Saturdays, the young farmer would take care of the chores early. Then he would go to the barn and prepare his mare,Nell, for their ride into town for the Saturday Night Dance. He would lift the saddel down from its' storage place  and set it across a nearby saw horse. Then he proceeded to buff the leather up to a high sheen. Next he took a brush to Nell and worked on her until her coat glimmered in the sunlight. When Nell was fully prepared, the young farmer returned to the house where he washed up and donned his best clothes. He didn't own a real suit, so his best consisted of a bright blue new pair of bib overalls, a white shirt, and a pair of highly polished dress shoes which he wore only for dress up. Thus prepared, he went out of the house, stepped up into the saddle abd started his ride into town. Nell had a gentle gait, so it was an enjoyable ride.       As Nell and the young farmer approached the hall where the dance was being held, the music came drifting across the warm summer air. The sun was still up, but the dance had already started. The young man nudged Nell with his heels and she quickened her pace. Soon they were there. He tied Nell to the hitching post. The young  man slapped the dust from his clothes and went inside. He stood for awhile just inside of the front door, until he located whee his Kate was standing. He wanted to rush right over to her, but forced himself to casually stroll over to her and ask politely if she would care to dance. Kate looked up and flashed him a broad smile that revealed her strong white teeth as she replied that she would love to dance. Her face glowed and became flushed as they whirled and swirled round and round to the strains of a beautiful old fashioned waltz. Time sped by and much too soon the little string band started to play the last song of the evening. As the last note of the evening ended, the young farmer gave Kate's little hand a gentle squeeze and asked if he would be seeing her at church in the morning. Kate looked up with a flushed face and nodded her head in the affirmative. She was then escorted back across the room to her family and the young man departed for his ride back home. As he rode under a bright full moon he was humming the songs he had heard during the evening. He found himself thinking how grand it would be to have Kate as his loving wife.       Sunday morning came early. As usual,the farmer was up and dressed prior to the rising of the sun. He went to the barn and attended to the daily chores. However, he worked a little faster this morning as he was eager to be off to church. Once again he brushed Nell's coat to a high sheen and combed out her mane. However, this time instead of saddling her up, he backed her up between the poles of his buggy. Once again, after he had prepared Nell for travel, the young farmer went back into his house and donned his Sunday best. Then he climed aboard his buggy and headed for church. It wasn't a long trip. It was a country church located near a crossroad which was only about a mile from the farmer's house. There was a vast amount of natural beauty along the way, but the young man saw it not at all - his mind was on Kate whom he knew was waiting there. In his eagerness to get there, he snapped his buggy whip in the air and Nell started to trot. As the buggy approached the bend near the church, he reined Nell back to a walk. It would have been unseemly to come rushing into the church yard.       After Nell was tethered to the hitching post, the young farmer joined the other men who had gathered in the shade under the big oak tree. This tree served as the valley's newspaper. Each sunday the men of the valley would gather under its' branches to tell stories and exchange news of mutual interest. When the bell rang out its' call to start the services, the young farmer lagged back and let the others enter first. He knew his Kate would be sitting in her family's pew with an aisle seat next to her reserved for him. She did this by laying a song book on the vacant seat. She removed the book as he sat down beside her. When the congregation started to sing, Kate and the young man shared the song book. Their fingers touched as their hands held the song book. The young man thought "This can't go on much longer, I must ask her father for her hand in marrage soon!"       The old man's thoughts returned to the present.  He called out to his faithful old Nell. She raised her old head and looked with bleary eyes for the source of her beloved master's voice. She walked painfully over to him and stopped in front of the gate. The old man reached over the gate with his right hand and gave her a friendly slap on her neck. Then the old man turned around. I could see the wide smile he had on his face. He retained his smile as he limped slowly back to the empty old farm house.       I sat there and watched as the old man went inside, slowly closing the screen door behind himself. I sat there a while longer, wondering to my self - "Did I actually see and hear what the old man was thinking, or do I just have an overactive imagination?" I really don't know. However, there is one thing for sure, never again will I look at a delapidated old barn and think of it only as a pile of rotting timbers.  In the future they will always be seen by me as monuments of the good old bygone days and the strong men that worked in them.                                                           ~~~~ finis ~~~~

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