Fitness and foolish stubborness combined for an awakening in a predawn beach walk run
It's Not Over - No It's Never Too Late
Chapter 57
A new year and a new era in the Parker-Greene family – Carol, Mark, Julie, Shiloh, Brent, Karen Grace, Tiffany, Morgan – (Jimmy Ellen – Ruthie )
I 've been walking through the fields
And on the streets of town
Trying to make sense of what you left me
Everything that I believed in
Has been turned upside down
And now it seems the whole wide world's
gone crazy
Don Henley, Timothy Schmidt, Steuart Smith – Do Something Eagles – Long Road Out of Eden
It's Not Over, no It's Never too Late
“Thank you for watching the girls tonight. Normally they would be at Mom’s, but she’s spending the weekend with Della. Brenda is coming over there.”
“Jimmy it’s fine we already have four here, what’s two more beside it balances boys and girls we now have three of each. Doing a church lock in on New Year’s Eve, I hope you survive.”
“It has been a long time since we could safely gather. Several churches are coming with youth groups. They have a gym and a fabulous recreation hall. Music all night may be the hardest to endure some of the youth groups are loud but lack other talent. Our kids wanted to go hoping we are able to be normal again. “
“Brent And Shiloh’s families are going to a movie Karen will go with your girls. Avatar was top choice, but there was still an ongoing debate.”
“My Ruthie probably hoped Little Mermaid was still a choice. She has watched that a hundred times. We need to get to the church many kids and sleeping bags to load up, thanks again “
“Jimmy your mother hated being called Little Ruthie, that was her first rule when she came here no more, Little Ruthie.”
“Ruthie likes it, but we will listen more than her father did. See you tomorrow.”
“OK Karen the stew is ready, and the biscuits are done in 30 seconds. Go round every one up.”
“Tiff I appreciate you taking the kids to the movies. Morgan let me give you a hug, thank you too.”
“We are pleased to; the kids will love it. Everyone has spent several months not seeing movies in theaters. The first Avatar was spectacular hope this is as good.”
“I want applesauce.”
“There’s applesauce in the small bowl.”
“Crumbling a biscuit into the applesauce is almost as good as mashed potatoes.”
“This stew is good, but I thought we are vegetarians?”
“There are lots of vegetables in the stew. This is Midwestern vegetarian.”
“Biscuits with apple and strawberry jelly are the best.”
“I think peach jam, is best.”
“Karen you have been here most of the year?”
“Once school was out. I have been here except for the recording sessions with the Orange Buffoons.”
“Brent says you are going to be a big star”
“Now Morgan, I bet he says I am just going to throw away some of my Dad’s money on an album of quirky songs.”
“He says that too, but everyone was impressed on the recordings we have heard.”
“Are you going to sing on Lizzie and Elly’s album?”
“I am doing backup vocals.”
“I haven’t seen Lizzie since we were here.”
“They went on a Christmas vacation back to Tennessee to see family. Junior is from there, too. Tiff you cannot imagine how many relatives they have back there.”
“Have you been to the theater over at New Harmony?”
“Lee and I had an outdoor event at the mall, our entourage went to a movie afterwards. They have ten screens.”
“There will be nine of us, but Shiloh and Tiff’s car can hold four or five. Our suburban tank can easily hold seven or eight.”
“We want to ride with Karen.”
“Karen’s car only holds one, she is riding with us.”
“The kitchen looks good let’s get going.”
“Are we getting popcorn?”
“You just finished dinner.”
“Popcorn doesn’t weigh much.”
“We will see.”
“See you later let’s get a hug.”
“Why aren’t you going Daddy?”
“We have more guests coming tonight. We have to be here to greet them. We’ll see you later.”
-
“Mom I have the table set. What time are they coming?”
“Thank you, Shiloh, 6:30. I have a new batch of biscuits set to come out five minutes before.”
“I think they are coming up the drive. Go out and help them. Mark insisted on bringing custards the ones his mother taught him to make.”
-
“Mark I’ll take those in.”
“Shiloh and Brent, I think I last saw you at my mother’s funeral?”
“It was, we both came back. Should we call you Dad, now?”
“Mark if it makes you more comfortable, I have missed being called Dad all of your lives.”
-
“Where should these go Carol?”
“I’ll put them in the refrigerator I left a shelf for them.”
“Thank you for coming Julie.”
“Thank you for inviting us. Mark says the Parker House and his place are neighbors. We seem rather far apart from my New York sense of neighbor.”
“A long distance but few human inhabitants in between. Are Mark and the boys coming in?”
“They were still hugging when I came in”
“I see them, a missed lifetime of hugs. I am so glad you are here”
“I am glad to be here. We were here once at Christmas. Mark’s parents came out to DC once and we went to museums and memorials. I came for the funerals; I do feel out of place here.”
“People will get used to you, I was an oddity when I came the hippie city girl, but not black, of course.”
“Most of the people are polite. Especially when we went to church. They all knew Mark; I was connected by family. Many of the women at church talked about helping build schools in Liberia. I may not feel Franklin fits me, but I know they were trying to reach out.”
“If you were not African American, even being from New York, with the U.N., a linguist, and a U.S. diplomat, would be different enough.”
“In the snow-white world of Franklin, I feel as much in a foreign land as when I was in Cambodia and Laos.”
“You will have to rely on your diplomatic skills, I am getting those boys all in here. No one needs cold biscuits.”
“Julie if you will sit to my right and Mark beside you, Shiloh to my left and Brent beside him. We will join hands and give thanks, without Ruth or Lizzie I will muddle through.”
“No, Mom ‘guns for God’ “– as Brent and Shiloh held their hands pointing their fingers to the sky like pistols.
“Didn’t you two ever grow up?”
“We’re home, it all comes back”
“Since you are still too immature to hold hands, here we go. Lord bless this family as you always have, may we in life share your blessing with others, may we never forget all those who have helped to make this reunion possible. May the five of us form a new and lasting family. Amen”
“Amen”
“Do you pray before all meals?”
“Ever since Ruth came it never seemed right not to pray especially at family meals. Even when I was by myself eating food that Grace had put away, it seemed a moment to be grateful was required. I do think this is the first time ‘guns for God’ was allowed at the dining room table.”
“I am feeling a real connection; I think it is irreverent respect. I appreciate it, not many families have it.”
“Thank you, Julie my sons were respectful, but often pushed the irreverent part a little too far. Julie and I talked after Mark’s mother’s funeral. We thought we should get together just the five of us and talk. Your wives and Karen agreed to take all the kids to a movie. It seemed important to maintain our roles at the funeral; Margaret had always insisted on that. We still have several years, and we should be a family. Mark and Julie you have been married almost thirty years?”
“It is thirty years.”
“I know you told me when you were in high school, you had decided Mark Greene was your biological father. I told you Max and Margaret knew. They could be open about being the grandparents they had always been when with you. From this point on Julie and I have decided that I am you mother, she is your stepmother, and Mark is your father. No one left to hurt, no reason not to be open. Have you talked about it; do you have questions?”
“Max and Margaret always knew we were grandsons?”
“Yes, we told them. It pleased and hurt them. They agreed to hold their silence.”
“Did Grandpa and Grandma Parker know?’
“No, we did not tell them. Even my attorney Mr. Finn who was part of the firm kept some details confidential. You were simply my sons to them. "
"I know Sean Finn, he's very polished and prepared. Also, professional he never mentioned anything to me, either"
"Brent my father just wanted to put away a problem. He didn't want to know too many details and he trusted Sean. They knew Stephen had been untruthful and unfaithful. They knew I had agreed to stay married for a limited amount of time. They assumed it was because I wanted children who would not be born outside marriage. You were wonderful sons any grandparent would have been proud of you.”
“It was great to be a kid here. Many others at school didn’t have a father at home. I didn’t think much about it. Did you Brent?”
“Jimmy and I were very busy. We found so much mischief to get into I didn’t think about it. I knew our Dad wasn’t here, but I had plenty of parenting. Everyone thought we were Stephen Capuano’s sons and he had abandoned us for his books and radio program.”
“I did have one incident before Brent was in grade school. One time in second grade two boys were pushing me on the playground. Neither had a father at home but they were teasing me, asking where was my daddy? They were bigger than I was even though we were all in the same grade. This changed when we in high school and had gone out for football, they didn’t like matching up with me then. Della saw them picking on me. She was on the middle school section of the playground. Della grabbed a handful of jump ropes and came running over. Before anyone knew she was there both of my tormentors were tied by their ankles and hanging upside down from the swing set. Rumor at school was she pants them. They squalled and kicked so much their jeans just slid. The teachers came running and Della had a visit with the principal. They realized the boys were bullies. Della was given a type of community service. She began visits with senior citizens and brought them kids crafts. It turned into an ongoing program. The seniors loved getting visits from kids. The kids usually got treats. A wonderful small-town thing. My bullies left me alone and Della turned a punishment into something the school administrators bragged about.”
“I was never bullied maybe I had Shiloh to thank for that. We determined you were our father when at Grandpa and Grandma Greene’s. When I was in junior high Shiloh and I were looking at photos of you. We began to compare. Shiloh said you look a lot like Mark. I did by the time I was in high school I looked just like those photos of you.”
“It was about that time one of the coaches who had been there when you went to school asked me to come in the office after practice.”
“Who was it”
“Ben Yoho said he remembered you.”
“He was a young teacher at the time, he had played Division III. He really worked with me on technique, moving your feet maintaining balance is very important. Did everyone call him Coach YoYo?”
“They did; he was a good sport about it. He pulled me in and said, Shiloh you remind me of Mark Greene. The way you stand and walk, the way you play. He said Shiloh you are a good student just like Mark was and you work your tail off just like Mark. He told me, if I was your son; I should be very proud of it. He felt no one was a better student athlete than you had been. Then he said he shouldn’t have said any of that, but I should know it anyway. I thanked him. I talked to Mom. We knew then it was an open truth within the family. It made our relationship with Grandma and Grandpa Greene even better.”
“You were both good at football and obviously good students, I am thankful for that, I saw you play.”
“How? were you home?”
“Dad sent me those highlight DVDs. I watched them.”
“He did; he spent hours watching them.”
“Julie not obsessively.”
“Yes, Mark obsessively”
“I enjoyed them.”
“We both enjoyed high school, but we were glad to move on. Franklin lacks many things. “
“I agree Brent, but I wish my sons were growing up here like we did. I think we had the greatest childhood here. I wish Mark could have been a part, but he was off being James Bond, I guess.”
“Julie and I are not agents. We mostly patiently put together information and then watch the top officials ignore it.”
“Mark is getting too old for James Bond; he got shot in his last attempt at cowboy diplomacy.”
“I did but I think age wasn’t the reason. It was a sticky situation I was working outside of channels. The hostages did get out. Julie got an unexpected Caribbean vacation.”
“I almost lost my husband; he has agreed no more cowboy diplomacy.”
"Now that we have a more competent administration maybe it won’t be necessary. Hostage negotiations are always volatile. Carol this is a fabulous meal basic Midwestern and of course my favorite foods. The wine is very good, thank you for having us.”
“The subscription service keeps sending wines I don’t know much about selecting them. Should we have your custards, now?”
“We could wait until everyone gets back from the movies.”
“Not the time to be polite Shiloh, go get everyone a custard. If Mark learned how to make them from grandma, I want one, hers were always great.”
-
“Thank you, Shiloh, I have a question, Julie. Are you OK with us bringing all this ’back home’ into your life?
“Carol and I have spent some time talking and getting to know each other. Mark is retired and I am working more in New York and not being assigned overseas. I welcome it. I told Carol it is odd to be here; I am in a foreign land again.”
“We grew up eavesdropping on your lives. Hearing what country you were in then looking it up on maps. We tried to keep up with the things you were doing. Once we were in high school, we would read articles on foreign policy issues. We have never felt as separate as you may have thought. I don’t want you to feel we are your stealing your husband for a Dad we never had. I want you to feel we are welcoming you as returned parents. Grandpa Max and Grandma Margaret were wonderful to us. We worked on their farm as well as ours. We learned how beautiful living here is. I agree with Shiloh sometimes I look at my children as Morgan loads them up for daycare or soccer lessons or dance lessons, I think wasn’t it better to be here. We learned to work and help. We learned to run, play, have some mischief, and not everyone broke an arm. We want to welcome you to this wondrous world of our memories. We do not want to be thieves of your life or your loves.”
“Mark your sons are considerate and polite, I am impressed.”
“Carol undoubtedly was as good a parent as she is a businesswoman. Julie and I have discussed this many times, and we feel it will enrich all our lives. We want you to include me as your father even at this late stage, and we want to be able to know Carol is a friend to both of us. I hope you come to know Julie as the wonderful person she is.”
“These custards are really good; you must have paid attention to Grandma Greene.”
“Shiloh and I will clean up and put things away, you, old people, move to the living room and relax. We will join you soon.”
-
“The fire is nice.”
“Brent got the fireplace ready earlier, Shiloh lit it just as everyone left for the movies. Fires in the fireplace have become a tradition ever since my folks came out for Christmas several years ago. When they all get home, we would like you to meet the kids as grandpa and grandma. Are you ready for that?”
“I think Julie is too young to be a grandma, but I think it would be nice.”
“I know lots of women my age who are grandmothers. I want to be included, even if I look too young for the role.”
-
“What do you know Melania is moving to Slovenia.”
“Your phone works out here, Shiloh?”
“You need to connect it to the wireless network in the house. Let me add it.”
“Why would she go to Slovenia with Barron?”
“I don’t know Shiloh, maybe there isn’t reciprocity with Slovenia. Ask the foreign service experts.”
“I suspect she hopes The Donald will not follow.”
“We are Asian specialists. I have heard Slovenia has spectacular caves, maybe she hopes to stay hidden until all this blows over. None of us honest public servants want them to stop investigating and prosecuting until all the corruption is exposed. I wouldn’t have gone to negotiate for the hostages with a functioning administration. “
“He wouldn’t have gone at all if he had listened to me.”
“I had to go I knew people being held. I spoke the languages. There were several Asian nationals being held. I knew the current administration would try to find political advantage and people would get killed. I was retired I had fewer restraints.”
“How did you get shot?”
“The provincial governor ordered an attack. He officially was trying to free the hostages. In reality he wanted Colonel Araujo, the head of the rebel faction dead. One helicopter came flying at our plane, it was still on the runway. The runway was actually a blocked off highway. The rebel factions had these military vehicles with fifty caliber type guns. They unloaded and the helicopter went down to the left of the highway. I believe there was a bounty it seemed a rather desperate strategy. We were headed for the plane when small arms fire opened from the site of the crashed helicopter. Return fire quickly suppressed it, but bullets were flying around one struck me in the calf. Deng Chi helped me on the plane, and we took off. The plane had suffered no damage. Colonel Araujo was adept at battlefield first aid. He kept me from bleeding to death. Colonel Araujo and his two top aides escaped in the plane with us. All the hostages were delivered safe. I can’t go back to El Salvador but would be welcome in many other countries. My contact Rojas now works for Deng Chi’s company; he also was banned from El Salvador. Those hostages would not have all lived without Rojas’s work. The Colonel and his aides left us after our jet touched down at a landing strip used by smugglers. We flew to Puerto Rico. I went to a hospital and Julie came down to help rehabilitate me. Colonel Araujo used a hostage situation to free himself he wanted a way out as much as the hostages. It was my first and last cowboy diplomacy.”
“How much does it affect you Mark?”
“I have done rehab regularly I try not to limp. I can walk but not run, I can do an elliptical. I’m doing alright, Carol.”
“He’s been using it as an excuse for being lazy. Julie can you get me a glass of water. I left my glasses on the dining room table. “
“There must be some advantage to being shot. “
“Mom said you are keeping the farm?’
“Yes, we will keep the farm. We have sold our super pricey modest home in DC and purchased an even more overpriced and smaller condo in New York. Julie will be working at the U.N. with our new ambassador there. I am retired from government and hostage negotiations. I would like to come back and be here in retirement. Julie is uncertain. I know she feels like everyone is looking at her.”
“Because they are.”
“It would get better if you lived here. You would always be welcome here with no staring. “
“I haven’t decided, as I have work to do in New York. Decisions will wait. It is good to be here. Margaret said the people at church were really good people once they got to know you. I believe she was correct; they have been very nice to me. Margaret also said church women liked it best, if they could find projects to collect something, they didn’t want that would help someone they didn’t know.”
“Yes, that is true. Grandma Greene was always getting us to load bags of bottle caps, aluminum cans, or some other type of junk they were collecting for a charity. “
“I think the family will be back soon. Karen told me the plan was to let the kids who could stay awake watch midnight on the East Coast and send them to bed."
“We have often gone to movies over the holidays. Shiloh installed streaming apps here now that we have fiber optic."
"We could watch Star Trek Picard or the new Captain Pike Enterprise, Anson Mount is great as Pike, or Discovery while we wait. Mom said, you were once a Trekkie. Have you seen any of the new shows?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Mark and I do not have an ability to stream. We aren’t home often; it didn’t seem worth doing."
"I think Picard. I read about it. "
"Shiloh, explain how this works I may want to do this in our New York condo. Mark’s considering coming back here to write a book.”
“On the cowboy diplomacy and getting shot adventure?”
“That would be a better book. Mark wants to write a comparative study of civil wars and the effects on the foreign policy of world powers. I have predicted ten people will read it.”
“Julie you are supposed to be my rock of support.”
“Support people need to keep you grounded. OK Shiloh If you have the Internet then you need this box?”
“I am going to get ready for the kids, we will give them custards and apple cider. Karen, Tiff, and Morgan may need wine. I really enjoyed Picard. I like them all. Each ten-part series seems to wrap up in the last episode a little hurriedly.”
-
“No Brent, relax I don’t need help.”
“I came in because I just wanted to ask. If Mark is back here to write and Julie is in New York isn’t that a setting leading to jealousy?”
“Julie and I have been communicating since Max’s death. We have made agreements. Lines not to be crossed.”
“As a lawyer I see people when the worst comes out. People become irrational and angry from verbal understandings.”
“We are good on this; Julie and I have much in common. We have had serious talks. We are all senior citizens now, at least by some people’s definitions. It surprises all of us to be called old. We are feeling it is a time not to stress and enjoy moments like this. We do not have a verbal agreement we have a connection, a permanent bond. You go enjoy a moment with parents you never really knew. I have some New Year’s nonsense to set out to make this a real party for the kids.”
-
“Oh, grandma those creatures they’re blue and tall. Everything glows. Johnathan was scared.”
“Was not.”
“We were all startled.”
“Did you like the movie?”
“They all did, a little long for our youngest.”
“I like those flower creatures. Do you grow those, grandma?”
“They don’t grow on this planet, maybe we can import them some day. Flower creatures might become an invasive species, usually happens when people import plants and animals. Go put your coats away and then come back to the dining room. I have custards the Greene’s made and cider.”
“Have a good time Karen Grace?”
“It is a great movie, the children enjoyed it. Hard to keep those little bundles of energy in one place.”
“Ask Tiff and Morgan if they want cider or wine. They may need wine, but the cider is very good.”
“This is all slippery I like it.”
“Would you like more cider?”
“We should be careful, I heard people shouldn’t drink too much on New Year’s Eve, Grandma.”
“I think a second cup of cider will be OK, you’re not driving anywhere.”
“Is it New Year’s yet?”
“In a few minutes, take your horn and let’s go into the living room.”
“Hello Mrs. Greene, we’re going to give you a hug. Grandma Ruth said we should give you a hug because you’re a special person.”
“Why am I special?”
“Grandma Ruth says you can talk to all countries and you keep them from starting wars.”
“Maybe she could speak to the blue creatures.”
“I’ve talked until I was blue in the face, as the expression goes, but never to blue creatures.”
“Carol, I’ve only met Ruth a couple of times, but I think I really would like to know her better.”
“Ruth is wonderful, if every church goer was a Ruth. You would have a much easier time as a diplomat.”
“Get ready to blow your horns. They are counting down.”
As the raucous horn blowing subsided- “Is that it, is it a new year?”
“Yes, it is Johnathan, upstairs now. We need a good rest. In this New Year there is much work to do to clean up the messes of the past.”
Karen led a parade of kids and parents headed upstairs to put them to bed accompanied by enthusiastic horn blowing.
-
“We’ve confiscated all the noise makers, hopefully complete silence by midnight in this time zone.”
“Tiff I want you to meet Mark and Julie Greene. My father and stepmother.”
“Morgan, I want to follow suite. Mark is my father and Julie is his wife of thirty years. They both work or have worked in the foreign service. Julie is headed to the U.N. as part of the ambassador’s team. Mark is retired now as an Asian specialist and cowboy diplomat.”
“Hugs in a family circle. Get in here Karen Grace my new little sister. May we always celebrate joy and face crisis as one unified family. A new year, a new day, a new family, and a better world.”
“Mark, I think maybe Shiloh ought to be a speech writer instead of a geeky techer.”
“I just said what I felt.”
“A true and rare skill, Shiloh. Carol I am feeling much more at home. Franklin may be easier to navigate than Cambodia after all.”
“Brent, I think you should add one more log, while Karen and I refill everyone’s glass.”
Julie moved over beside Carol and Karen, “Now Carol how is Karen my new stepdaughter, other than she appears to be your clone?”
“Karen Grace is my great niece, but she has decided to make this her home. Unless she is off being a recording artist or a college student. She is my friend here at Parker’s Produce.”
“A recording artist?”
“I will record an album of songs; I may not be an artist. I did do backup vocals on the Orange Buffoons latest album. “
“The Orange Buffoons?”
“They are very popular, Julie. I had never heard of them until Karen and Madison came back for the season’s first concert out at the Homestead.”
“We came back for our assignment, the concert was a serendipitous coincidence.”
“Yes, maybe coincidence or possibly providence. I know four lives that have been changed dramatically. Possibly Lee and Madison will be back before you go back to New York. Lee is the world’s greatest guitar player at least according to Madison and Karen, who just happens to be from Walnut Ridge a neighboring town even smaller than Franklin.”
“Is that possible, Franklin is very small.”
“Most people would not call Walnut Ridge a place, but they do around here. Lee is exceptionally good Julie. Madison does say he is the world’s best, but she has become his rather biased girlfriend.”
“Karen came here in the summer when she was twelve or thirteen. Her father is my nephew and partner in the business."
I’ve made this home base, Carol has been a wonderful mentor, friend, and mother."
"Karen Grace is phasing through to her adult course in life. We are already in a new year and new era in this family. It is satisfying to see Mark, his sons, and daughter in laws involved in learning from each other’s lives.”
“Carol a new year and we will make it a very good one “-as Julie gave Carol a hug.
“About tomorrow, I thought we would have dinner about one. Brent asked for ham a favorite of his. I didn’t think to ask if anyone didn’t eat pork.”
“I’m a Methodist Carol, just like Mark. The Liberian church helped my mother come to the U.S.”
“I think Tiff is putting vegetarianism on hold until they are back in California. Besides we will have plenty of food to surround a ham. “
“How many tomorrow Carol, should we do anything tonight?”
“Not tonight Karen, the Donaldson girls will go home in the morning. There will be twelve of us. Plenty of time in the morning. I was never a fan of the parade; it seems such a waste although the floats are amazing.”
-
“Good night, we’ll be back after 12 o’clock then, catching up on hold until tomorrow, rather later today.”
“See you tomorrow, sons. We can watch football together.”
“I’ve heard horse back riding is happening in the morning, you can come back early if you like.”
“I was here many times when Eldon and Grace were here, well mostly in the hay mow. There were no horses when I was a kid.”
“I have a love/hate relationship with horses. They came with Ruth. Take care on the way home, it is unlikely you will meet anyone, but they might be drunk.”
“I doubt we will meet anyone in the two and a half miles. Franklin is a far cry from New York.”
-
“Good morning Jimmy would you and Ellen want some coffee?
“Yes Carol, it would be good. Need to stay awake to make the mile back home. How were the girls last night?”
“Fine I think they all loved the movie. Elizabeth is in watching television, I think she is watching the Rose Parade. Everyone else are with the horses in the exercise shed. I have a couple of custards left. Mark made them from Margaret’s recipe. Would you like one?”
“Margaret made great cream pies; coconut cream was so good. I may need sugar to make another mile.”
“Ellen would you like one?”
“No thank you, we snacked all night, instead of sleeping. Oh, here comes Ruthie”
“Mommy can we stay another night? Without us Cate will be left alone with just boys. She is just learning to ride a horse and we should help her. Did you know there are no fields in Chicago?”
“The boys are her cousins Ruthie. It is up to Carol.”
“Ruthie you and your sister can stay. I remember two boys named Brent and Jimmy who seemed to always have a reason to stay another night. Ruth, it is easier to have a horse out here than in Chicago, not every little girl has a grandma putting them on a horse at two years old like you did.”
“Did someone take care of grandma’s horses she isn’t home?”
“They did Ruthie. Grandma will be home tonight. Now thank Carol for putting up with you two for another night.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Parker”
“You’re welcome Ruthie, now you be careful with my grandchildren. They are all city kids, none of them know anything about a horse.”
“Karen is helping, she is very fun. She didn’t know anything about a horse either a year ago. She had been kayaking and sailing, but a horse is the best friend. Bye”
“Thank you, Carol we could use the uninterrupted sleep. Sorry about Mrs. Parker”
“Jimmy I never worry about such small things. If someone tries to talk to my husband at the office or thinks my being a woman allows them to make less of an offer. They soon learn Ms. Parker can be a force to reckon with. Karen calls me Carol. I wasn’t allowing her to say great aunt, even aunt was unnecessary. Ellen did you grow up on a horse like your daughter?”
“I was never on a horse until I started going out with Jimmy”
“Yes, Ruth and her horses, well I think your daughter is headed for barrel racing.”
“I hope not, it looks dangerous to me. Jimmy leave that last bite, that custard is good,”
“You could have had your own you didn’t need to grab a spoon and eat mine.”
“Sharing is a good lesson.”
“You send the girls home if they cause trouble, otherwise I’ll run by around noon. I wanted to say goodbye to Brent before he left. I knew he would make a good lawyer. He was always trying to talk our way out of the trouble we got into. It has been good to see him again this week.”
“Brent and Morgan haven’t come down, yet. Brent laughed as he retold your bicycle adventure. I don’t think he talked your way out of that one.”
“Best thing about that was the broken arm. By the time I got back from the hospital Dad had cooled down. He was so patient with Brent helping fix our bikes. I was mostly watching couldn’t do much with my arm in a cast. I do miss Dad.”
“We all do. Junior looks like a lost pup most of the time without JB.”
“We’ll go catch up on sleep, you have a nice day. Growing up I felt like Brent and I had two moms.”
“Thank you, Jimmy.”
“Hey, Jimmy how you’ve been?”
“Good Shiloh, just tired.”
“I came in to see if you needed help Mom. Ruth said she was staying.”
“Yes, she reminded me of three almost inseparable boys that used to hang out around here. I’m good at the moment. You left Karen with six kids and three horses?”
“Karen is doing OK with the kids, and Ruth has the horses well in hand.”
“Good morning, Morgan.”
“Morning Carol I’ll help once I get a cup of coffee”
“Good morning Ellen I see you and Jimmy survived.”
“We were just leaving; we are ready to crash. See you later.”
“I’ll go back out then.”
“Shiloh, Brent will be out soon.”
“What can I do Carol?”
“Why not put the coffee in the thermos and make another pot.”
“Karen heard me get up. We have the ham in, it will be over cooked by dinner time. It can sit before we slice it. We made up the scalloped potatoes. I plan to steam broccoli and use the same pot to steam peapods. It would be a good time to get the pot for steaming out. We’ll pull enough broccoli and pea pods from the freezer. I have squash and corn in the oven. I have this warming tray to put them on, then I will put the potatoes in. Will your kids eat broccoli and pea pods?”
“They will likely eat everything, maybe not squash.”
“I was sure Shiloh’s boys would like the green, yellow, and white vegetables, being vegetarians. At least until they came to the Midwest. The Donaldson girls are adventurous when it comes to foods.”
“Jimmy didn’t take them home?”
“Little Ruth came in. If they left, Cate would be the only girl, and she needed to be here to teach everyone how to ride. We will have six kids and eight adults. Karen and I will sit in the kitchen with the kids until they are finished with dinner.”
“Mark and Julie, I did not hear you drive in. Meringue pies, coconut cream and what?”
“Chocolate”
“I like the sound of that Carol.”
“I agree Morgan, but the coconut cream is exquisite. You said you would bring a dessert; those look like the ones your mother made.”
“When Mom was getting less well, I was retired I slipped home still gimping a little. She said I needed to learn to make these because I loved them so much. I have gotten quite good at it.”
“Put them on top of the range in the summer kitchen.”
“I convinced Julie jeans would be appropriate, especially if she wanted to try and ride a horse.”
“Little Ruth will be so pleased.”
“Morning Mom, what can I do?”
“Hi Brent, fill the thermos with coffee for the barn. There are cups in an old cabinet out there. Shiloh would like a cup I am sure. Then escort Julie to the barn. She wants to try riding a horse. I hear lessons are in full swing. Future World Champion Barrel Racer Little Ruth Donaldson is teaching. Shiloh and Karen are out there as well. If everything is under control send Karen back in.”
“I’ll bring in the other two pies.”
“You made four pies?”
“I know how much boys can eat. I’ve noticed when it comes to chocolate women seem to find a way. I had all those egg whites from the custards”
“I see you learned the lessons of a farm kitchen make plenty.”
“Hey, Tiff how you are doing?”
“Fine, still on West Coast time, I think.”
“Grab a mug of coffee. I can heat water for tea.”
“Coffee is needed, I think. What are those?”
“Two more meringue pies, one chocolate one coconut cream.”
“Two more, you mean there are four of those things?”
“Yes, Mark needs to get out to the summer kitchen.”
“I will hold the door. Those look great, you made them?”
“I did, my mother insisted I learn.”
“You and your mother are winning my heart”
“Karen, good you’re here. I’ve just taken the corn and squash out and put the potatoes in. If you could help Morgan and Tiff get started steaming broccoli and peapods. I think Morgan has the pot out. Then you can take a shower, you’ve been wrangling kids and horses all morning. Mark and I will walk out and watch the New Yorker getting riding lessons from a ten-year-old. I will send Shiloh in to slice the ham. We should be ready to get this New Year underway. We need a good year.”
“Mark did you ever ride much.”
“No Ruth persuaded me to try, and I rode a couple of times. Dad said Danny rode a horse and Ruth would come. He thought he was in Montana when they did a round up. Eldon and my Dad remembered having to work horses in the field. Often a farm may have had a tractor, but they still had horses. They weren’t sorry to see them retired.”
“I had retired them from here, but Ruth convinced Karen we should have a few again. I enjoy them occasionally. Karen has cared for them every day she was here. She and her friend Madison would often ride them to the Homestead to work during the summer.”
“I feel you and Julie are accepting or at peace about all of us being here, reunited. I am thankful to get the opportunity to know your sons. They are fine young men.”
“Ours sons, they have the best of nurture and nature. It was amazing to see you growing in them every day. Julie and I know we both love you and we know you love us. We’re not going to mess up your marriage or your relationship with our sons. I like Julie more and more as I get to know her. She seems to be beginning to find the charm in living here. It takes a long time to lose the blinders of the big city. “
“They will be in the machine shed now the exercise building. Good thing you Greene’s have all the equipment. Ruth turned this into a training building. She trained Seven Up here. “
“Seven Up?”
“Seven Up was her prized quarter horse. Ruth trained him. He was very valuable after he won those races. She sold him and bought the big black Shires. Honestly those huge Shire horses were a great marketing promotion. I can never forget how lucky I am Ruth came here. She was somewhat uncontrollable.”
Mark and Carol entered to see Julie riding somewhat uncomfortably on a horse, lead by little Ruth on a horse beside her.
“Hey Grandma, the horses are so big.”
“We can ride them now. “
“They like us.”
“They’re pretty horseys.”
“Shiloh take all the kids to the house. It is time for dinner. After you clean up slice the ham. We’ll be up after we care for the horses.”
“Keep holding Billie Roo Brent, as I get on ”
Carol mounted with ease and rode out to Julie and Ruth. “How you doing Julie?”
“Getting more comfortable.”
“She’s never been on a horse. It seems New York is maybe worse than Chicago, I don’t think I’d ever want to go to those places.”
“Ruth there are no fields or horses like here, but many people live there. It can be interesting. I’ll take the reins you ride over to Brent and help put the horse in the stall. It is time for dinner.”
“OK she needs a good run around.”
“One trip, stay gentle with her.”
“Ruth and horse went out and round the building; truly the rider and the horse were part of the same being.” Carol kept the reins tight as motion flashed by.
“Let’s ride to the end and back; that little girl is her grandmother reborn. I had never been on a horse until Ruth came. Do you think you could learn to enjoy this?”
“I think I might. Does Mark ride?”
“He’s a modern farmer, they think horses are a nuisance. You will have to keep your horse over here. We should go in, time for dinner. We have to put the horses in the barn.”
-
“Carol could I lead the prayer before dinner?”
“Mark that would be nice and seems right. If everyone is cleaned up, we should start.”
In spite of everyone being ready, it takes patience to assemble six children ten and under plus eight adults. “Karen and I will be in the kitchen with everyone too young to vote. First let’s all gather in the dining room and Mark will say grace. Mark why not take the head chair, Julie to your right Shiloh and Tiff to your left and Brent and Morgan to Julie’s right. The rest of us will gather here.”
“Thank you, Carol if everyone will do the guns for God pose. I doubt Eldon and Grace, or Max and Margaret would approve, but I found it cute. Hands up, that’s right point right to heaven. Lord we can never be grateful enough for your blessings. Thank you for the food and those who grow it, those who prepare it, and those who consume it. Without your providence many of us would not be here celebrating this loving connection, able to share life as one family. May we dedicate ourselves to building a healthy world for all families. May we always understand we are all children of the same God. May we understand saving the planet and saving humanity must walk arm in arm. Amen. I would express more thanks, but we are all hungry.”
“OK kids, we have all the same foods in the kitchen so let’s move in there.”
“You know Mrs. Parker Cate is getting very good on a horse. I think she is ready for a trail ride.”
“That’s nice Ruth, you don’t need to be so formal. Lizzie used call me Miss Carol. How about Miss Carol we will stay on a first name basis.”
“I like Miss Carol, are you Miss Karen then?”
“Sounds like a good name.”
“We don’t have mashed potatoes to put in the applesauce.”
“We do have cottage cheese your father always mixed applesauce and cottage cheese, I’ll put a dab in your applesauce bowl, and you try it. What do think?”
“Oh, it is good.”
“I’ll add a little more cottage cheese then.”
“Miss Karen did you see how good Cate was doing?”
“I did Ruthie.”
“Grandma Carol everything is very good. I like putting these peaches on the ham.”
“I think peach marmalade could be very good on ham. Ulysses, do you like the potatoes?”
“Yes, can I have more?”
“Here I will add some.”
“Mom said you grew the broccoli here and froze it.”
“Yes, that is true.”
“I would like to see things grow; they are always dead in the stores.”
“Elijah, I think it is called harvested, now just enjoy them.”
-
“Hello Mark, running out of food in the dining room?”
“You know that is not possible, but it does sound like Shiloh and Brent required huge quantities of good food to become the fine men they are. Shiloh, Brent, and I are going to clean up and put things away. Would you play and Karen sing with the children? I think Julie would enjoy hearing them. I was told you did this at bible school this year.”
“We did and the Donaldson girls were part of the sing-alongs.”
“Miss Karen sings really good doesn’t she Elizabeth?’
“mm, huh”
“Ruthie you should say Karen sings very well.”
“I did Cate, she’s got a good voice. Miss Karen is real pretty, too. I hope I grow up and look like her.”
“Ruthie, I have learned all women have their own special beauty, and it flowers at different ages.”
“Mark your years in our diplomatic service have turned you into a charmer filled with platitudes.”
“Careful Carol, don’t cause me to rethink cleaning up.”
“No Mark, we will go have a real hootenanny and leave my men in charge.”
“Hootenanny what is that Grandma?”
“It is an old celebration of song; you will soon find out Cate.”
“Karen, I think the kids are playing with the food as much as eating it. Let’s get all the kids hands washed in your bathroom and then head to the parlor.”
“Parlor?”
“If we are going to have a real hootenanny, then we have to be in the parlor.”
“OK then I will take the boys. Carol, you follow with the girls. A dozen hands are a lot to wash.”
“We all need time before your great desserts, Mark. OK girls follow me.”
“I will cut the pies and put them in the refrigerator. I should go run a mile, if I could. I need exercise, before I eat anything else.”
“Here Dad just wait a moment, this is our kitchen. We know where everything is, open the cabinet behind you and get out the Tupperware bowls. Every lady at church used Tupperware.”
“I didn’t know it was still around.”
“It is in Franklin. Mom installed this fancy garbage disposal, something severely lacking in the times of Eldon and Grace. Mom always said it was because Sam had died, but she put it in before Sam died. It is really a composting system for the flower gardens and vegetable gardens near the house. It makes clean up easier and is separate from the septic system. It is a bitch to clean out if it screws up isn’t it, Brent?”
“Yes, Shiloh what a stinking mess. Do remember Sam, Dad? He was a very old dog by the time I remember him.”
“I met Sam; he was a good dog. He liked me. If a prospective guy is liked by the dog, it is always a good sign for a woman.”
“You named your son Ulysses, are you a Civil War buff then?”
“We both are. I am named Shiloh, after all.”
“We geeked out on American history; it made us stars on the scholastic bowl teams. There was another school with two brothers on the same team, they were a tough pair to beat. They were very conservative and very smart, and completely obnoxious. Shiloh always said their father had filled them with propaganda from day one. Beating those guys was greatly satisfying, especially when they pulled a wrong fact from Fox News. We silently basked in the glow of their disbelief and anguish.”
“I take it you didn’t mock them.”
“No need they wallowed in their own despair. Shiloh said think of it like football, crush them so hard they are afraid to take your hand to be helped up, but don’t trash talk.”
“Brent got to trounce the younger brother for a couple of more years, I and the older brother graduated the same year. The brothers had an alternative set of history that sometimes got them to the wrong answer. Will we ever live in the same country again? There seems to be two separate realities, now.”
“The words of the Trump supporters echoed the complaints of the secessionists. It was frightening. It was infuriating.”
“People lived in different realities before the Civil War. History has repeated the separation from reality in Trump times. Do you agree Mark?”
“The Trump administration almost destroyed government; it will take a decade to rebuild the economy, the institutions, our role in the world, and a more normal America. The pendulum almost swung out of the clock, but it is coming back to equilibrium. America has always had a strong segment of people who define and are hostile to groups called other. How other is defined changes over time. At the very core of America there exists an animus. Part of our humanity instinctively feels some groups are to be feared. As much as we try to vanquish the demons they can still be summoned by the right conjurer. We are now in an era where our better angels can be encouraged. The more we live into our better angels the weaker the demons become. Do your children have diverse friends?”
“We do, California is very diverse, I’m afraid the last year of Trump made even Ulysses aware of race. It was like his class looked up and realized they had differences; ones they didn’t see before. It was in the news. Good for adults to reckon with truth, disturbing for children who live in a different world. When they tried to start school in person the administration organized social justice rallies in the grade school.”
“Chicago remains very diverse and very segregated. Johnathan’s best friend is the son of one of my firm’s attorneys. He is African American; the boys haven’t said anything. We decided it is best to let them bring it up if they were concerned. “
“I’m sure Brent would agree. The hard lives of the economically disadvantaged are different than our worlds. Our kids do not know diverse people in an economic sense. “
“Chris and I were watching Johnathan and his son play so innocently. He related the history of institutional racism that created segregated Chicago. People are forced to work shifts without health benefits, kids don’t have safe places to be cared for and start early learning. We need investment in health centers, around the clock day-cares, and innovative schools in all the communities. Chris feels if we invested in social service resources and better transit instead of evermore militant police, the communities would begin to reinvigorate themselves. Make people’s lives livable and our communities will be livable.”
“When you study the evolution of many things in America you realize the defining motivation of much of our history is racial animus. How we define the other has changed. Catholics were other, Irish and Germans, even Swedes, were other, immigrants from various European countries were other. Puritans and Pilgrims victims of religious discrimination were unsympathetic to other viewpoints, hence Rhode Island. As our definition of ‘An American’ has expanded the fear of others has continued to be our strongest political motivation. “
“Are we all racists? Even you, married to Julie?”
“Shiloh we all have innate biases. It is not that all Americans are racists, but we have all been influenced by racism in America. Collectively ‘the American’ has feared Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans, and we always fear any new immigrant group. Trump realized the majority of the Republican Party was as racist as he was. Institutional racism today runs in a straight line from the nineteenth century. After the Civil War even with constitutional amendments including Blacks as citizens fear allowed them not to be accorded their inherent rights. Fear and greed are the most powerful weapons any demagogue can wield. A skilled demagogue can rely on these political wedges and levers just as basic tools work in physics.”
“Do you ever lose faith America?”
“No never, I am forever moved, and I firmly believe in Lincoln’s words of 1862. “We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.” I have dedicated my life to this end, I know many men and women who have done the same. We need Americans to take voting seriously and to demand solutions, not emotional remedies.”
“It seems we always fall short. We have failed for so long. We’re one hundred sixty years past those words. Still our institutional racism and gridlock in Congress undermine a better America.”
“We are always left short that is true. People rally for a day, or a month, or a summer, but they move back to normal. Average people must find jobs to support families. The power-brokers are supported by manipulating the system; it is their job. Lincoln’s assassination greatly harmed our nation, it destroyed any gain toward racial justice. We had four years of Andrew Johnson. If Lincoln had passed his administration directly to Ulysses Grant, we would have had the new birth of freedom. Andrew Johnson was maybe our most racist president; read Montgomery Blair’s campaign speeches when running for vice president in 1868. It is easy to see the political forces being exploited to undermine progress.”
“You feel Lincoln had influence enough to change the course of our nation? Hi Tiff”
“I came to see how things were going. Karen is a wonderful singer. The kids are singing along having a great time. It looks like you are about done and are deep into the Civil War. I will just back on out of here. You two have always been a pair to endlessly discuss old things most people want to forget, now it seems you have found someone equally as boring.”
“Tiff we will be done soon, then we will see if you find the pies equally boring.”
“I will come back for pie, love you Shiloh.”
“Shiloh, I guess Tiff is not a buff. Yes, Lincoln was at the height of his political power. He had allies in Congress. Andrew Johnson had several months of unrestrained action before Congress returned. He made a play to be elected president and found he hated Black people more than the planter class. Lincoln believed in fairness; he felt the African American troops had earned the vote from fighting the war. When Blacks voted, there were schools, freedman were allowed to make their own living. When Whites ruled, they violently suppressed black votes, their goals were to return freedman back to slavery. Every effort was to not allow Black people any rights before the law. With Lincoln gone, and the racist Johnson as president, a terrible spiral of injustice began. Grant tried but it was four years too late”
“Trump attacked everything not just racial divisions. His administration wanted to destroy the climate, worker safety, trade, immigrants, democratic values, rule of law, press freedom, everything that we hold up as American values. The administration was corrupt and untruthful, we’ve lost credibility. You must have felt that when in contact with foreign governments.”
“It was very disappointing; I could no longer be proud. I refused to be without hope, I couldn’t believe the Republicans as a whole would be so complicit. Unfortunately, we have become very corrupt; we no longer have competitive capitalism, our economy is mostly crony corporatism. When policies have 80 percent majority support and cannot get to the floor, we have the gridlock of the power-brokers”
“There were sweeping elections, maybe it has changed.”
“Yes Brent, a refreshing change. The agents of power were back to work bending policy to favor their interests before the ballots were counted. We need a party based on a web of connection to people. There are multitudes of small social networks no party is keeping in contact with because they think power lies with money. We may be ready for a new era of government, there are plenty of tools.”
“We never build anything. We have energy efficient technology. Tesla talked about a hyper loop from O Hare to Downtown, but nothing evolved.”
“We fail to plan an integrated transportation system. We piecemeal everything without any vision. We could have high speed rail links from regional airports to hubs. It would be much more efficient and more secure. The plan for that hyper loop could first be a dedicated freeway route of electric cars autonomously driven. They could continually loop between O’Hare and Downtown. Many things are possible with private public partnerships if America could innovate.”
“Far more progressive people in Congress now.”
“Yes, but no one has yet designed the web of connection that would really empower people. We need the Amazon of policy formulation and motivating voters to vote. Amazon was easy to use, and you got stuff, no one knew they were killing the employees to accomplish that. In this case only policy need be delivered. Many voters, our less informed voters, need to be reached through their existing personal connections. This could be done, but innovation is no longer our strong point.”
“Conservatives don’t seem to like conservation.”
“People ought to be willing to be responsible for paying for and cleaning up the costs of their activities. Conservatives and corporations manage through policy manipulation to pay nothing, let someone else live with the consequences.”
“They are quick to let taxpayers bail them out in secret when they implode. “
“Corporations took money after Covid-19 and the Trump administration claimed it could be secret. Corruption has so warped the systems of our government we consider it normal. We may be in the age of reform, but people will have to keep communicating with the government. The institutional Democrats want everyone to go away now. They can raise the corporate lobbying money while being a more benevolent ruler. “
“It may change, now climate has to be the highest priority. Existential threat is not an exaggeration.”
“My fine sons, A new year and a new hope, is that Star Wars? I have not seen all of the Star Wars franchise.”
“Early Star Wars the first – you must have forgotten.”
“I may have been on the first Asian tour. I probably thought studying Mandarin was more important. “
“Hey Shiloh, we’re done time for that pie and some football; the Rose Bowl hasn’t started yet. “
“Sounds like the best of New Year’s.”
“I suggest you use a bowl. It may be runny. It is good, I tasted the puddings.”
“Brent, chocolate or coconut cream?"
“Chocolate.”
“I’ll take coconut cream.”
“Good choice Shiloh, it is my favorite, as well. We should check on the hootenanny.”
-
“That looks good. Brent, let me taste. Mmm good I have to have one of those.”
“Shiloh you share a bite. Yes, I agree. I love coconut.”
“Morgan, I learned something in the kitchen besides where there are more of these excellent pies. The long never-ending discussions about history these two carry on. It is an inherited trait.”
The boys were standing and then the girls jumped up as they all sang the final chorus of ‘Standing on the promises of God’.
“Looks like you have broken into dessert.”
“We didn’t want to interrupt. “
“We’ve exhausted our repertoire a good time to break.”
“They were so good, a super sing fest”- Julie slid her arm into Mark’s.
“OK kids it looks like someone has broken out the pies would you like to have dessert?”
“Yes, and then can we go back and ride some more.”
“Do you think the horses are too tired, Ruth?
“Oh no Miss Carol they didn’t exercise too much this morning.”
“Let’s go to kitchen and see if Mark learned how to do this right.”
“The pies are very good Mom; I think he knows what he’s doing.”
“I’ve got a game on TV, it’s about over. Rose Bowl is next.”
“Wow these are good, I love coconut.”
“Chocolate is the best.”
“Looks like everyone has a bowl now. “
-
“Now that you are done, who wants to go out and ride some more?”
Cate and Ruth’s hands went up quickly, Elizabeth’s followed. Ulysses said, “We want to play video games upstairs.”
“OK Karen can you help the girls go ride?”
“Yes, I’ll go with them.”
“I’ll go along, Tiff will you get the boys started upstairs?”
“I will Morgan, but I may need a half piece of that chocolate pie just to see if it holds up to this coconut.”
“Dishwasher is done I better unload it looks like we will have several bowls to put in.”
“I will help Carol.”
“Thank you, Julie.”
“Time for the horse cavalry to head to the barn. Let’s get your boots back on.”
“We can get the games going without you, Mom.”
“I will go along to watch then.”
“All the bowls are in; I think I will try a small pie. Margaret’s were truly the best.”
“I tasted the chocolate pudding. I could try a half piece of the finished product.”
“Should we take these and join our men?”
“We should, this house feels filled with love. Thank you for sharing your sons.”
“Thank you for sharing their Dad.”
“We are more when together. It isn’t sharing, more growing in light and love.”
“I have learned that one lesson from helping at church, even if I don’t want all their beliefs.”
“Enough love to light five candles?”
“Yes, enough love, an overflowing spring.”
As they approached the living room, they could hear the shouts. “Keep him from getting outside, fight through that receiver.”
“He’s the deep threat don’t leave him uncovered.”
“Yes, yes, did you see him close for the interception, an amazing play.”
“Watching them I feel complete.”
“I do too, as if we will always be united.”
“We will.”
“Carol, it is too bad they have missed these moments. Look at how much joy they have sharing this time watching a game.”
“There is still a lifetime of moments. No regrets now, let’s slip in quietly and watch and share them.”
Carol sensed a touch. She thought Julie had touched her, but her hands were on her bowl and the spoon as she finished her pie. Carol didn’t know why she sensed a touch, but it was reassuring. It was after all the perfect moment of reunion, worth watching and sharing across times and places.
Shiloh NMP - Grant's Last Line
