Life Events Part 6s Remembrances of things past, the written word - the Parkers Big Rock II Even though I grew up in Big Rock, population 250, I didnt stay there all the time. There was the wonder of imagination that was often prompted by the written word. Mother not only read Bible stories to us, of which my favorite was Elijah shuffling off this mortal coil in a chariot of fire, which is how I plan to leave this life, she also introduced my brothers and me to the world of Grimms fairy tales, Mother Goose, and Aesops fables. Since one of my chores was to wax the linoleum that covered one of our floors, how could I not savor the thought of a golden chariot and prince charming looking at me with unabashed delight. I didnt always subscribe to the lessons presented in Aesops fables. For example, I appreciated the hares choices when he raced with the tortoise. While the hare knew that the purpose of the race was to get to the finish line first, he also knew that the quality of the experiences during the journey was more important than winning the race. I especially enjoyed the story of Jack and the beanstalk. Jack was a role model, demonstrating that size is not as important as cleverness and agility. I was also taken by the imaginary world where a dish would run away with a spoon. My first experience with the theater occurred during the first grade when I played Little Muffet in what seemed to me to be an extravagant production which was presented on the stage in the Big Rock elementary school. I had one line, actually one word if I must bow to reality - eek! I must say that I thought I delivered that word with aplomb. Im sure Mother thought so, too. The boy who played the spider, whose name I will not divulge, quite possibly was inspired by that role to set forth on a path that led him to a penitentiary. I especially enjoyed those evenings when the rain beat a military tattoo on the roof while Mother read to us. The creek would sometimes rise, overflow its banks, and lap against the front porch, but never get in the house. The coal oil lamp cast a magical glow that was lost when we allegedly upgraded to electricity. The first books I read other than The Bible opened up to me the wonderful world of the Bobbsey twins and the somber world of the French revolution as presented by Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities. Later the post office opened up yet other worlds when the post mistress permitted a book mobile driver to place books on a bookcase in the lobby of the post office. Big Rock always placed first in the number of books checked out, most likely I am sure because Mrs. Geneva Ezell, Mr. Mac Pellum, and I read virtually every book in that bookcase. In the hall that connected the Sunday school rooms in the Big Rock Baptist Church stood an impressive armoire with a glass front that held an eclectic collection of books, including an anthology of American poetry. I stood there in the hall and read a poem. My world was forever changed. After all these years, I remember the name of the poet and the title of the poem. If someone had told me then that I would someday correspond with and spend time with the poet laureate of the United States, I cant think I would have believed that would happen.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 20:59:46 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015