Heroes all around us
BUG GUTS & BEAUTY
Friday, the last one in April. It was a beautiful day to celebrate the legacy of a friendship. Don Kierstead took his leave of family and friends earlier in the month.
From his vantage point at Cloverleaf Farms he saw Maysville change from fields into commercial space. From all the change he still kept a sense of humor and courage. He remembered stories of long ago and yesterday and shared them with those who would listen. In the end, still ramrod straight, a smile on his face he walked into another time. Courage by example for us all. Poorer are we to miss his steady presence and richer for having such a generous man.
Discovering heroes is a daunting task. Growing up it is easy to see the failings and faults of our most vivid heroic types. People are people and human failings follow everyone. Over time we learn to understand what exactly we see that makes a person a hero in our eyes. Now begins the month of May. The early thaw and gradual warming will soon lead to the roar of tractors in the fields; sounds of shovels cutting the earth and all sorts of youngsters coming out of spring barns.
May firmly marks the end of Winter and the beginning of Summer. A long time ago in another community my mother announced her arrival. Not an easy thing to do when the world seemed upside down and coins were hard to come by. This did not stop her or others of her time. Soon she was up and about. Begging a grandmother to show her how pies are made by swinging an axe bigger than she. Those old cook stoves were made from wrought iron fueled with sticks hewn from mighty trees.
May brings her birthday. Hers began long ago and continues to this day and many more lie ahead. Heroes surround us if we learn to look. These many years their ranks ebb and flow like the tide on a rocky shore. Sometimes there are many. Sometimes there are few.
Just as waves roll into the beach and winds flick our hairs around heroes come and go as needed in our own stories. This final moment of April and first moment of May are lit from above in a glorious bow of sunshine and greening. Those long dark days of Winter banished with every bolt of color that Nature can loft. Tulips, narcissus, hyacinth, and seedlings rear up their heads shining brightly against the brown. Heroes, too, do this.
After Winter’s wrath the flowers, grasses, leaves, and new announce once more that heroes walk upon this sacred ground. The sky calls out the deepest blue. The air a warm caress on the shoulders. Joy surrounds. These many years mom has seen of wit, humor, sadness, and exuberance. So in this merry month of May, once again we’ll celebrate her birthday. Happy Birthday, mom.
Orpheus Allison is a photojournalist living in The County who graduated from UMPI and earned a master of liberal arts degree from the University of North Carolina. He began his journalism career at WAGM television later working in many different areas of the US. After 20 years of television he changed careers and taught in China and Korea.
