Chapter 28: The Happy Hunting Ground

 As years pass so do memories.  Faces of what was and what will be float by in the minds of men on a regular basis.  These are what connects the ones doing the remembering with what is being remembered.  If the memory is paid close attention to, then the lessons of the past will embed themselves on the psyche of the ones doing the remembering.  Then Dreams will come and unite the past with the present then blended will become the future.  Then words like deja-vu and precognition make perfect sense in the larger scheme of things.

The Boy had been away from home for a good many years.  After many years had past He returned for a visit to find The Grandma suffering from the last stages of Dementia.  She even confused Him with The Old Man on more than one occasion.  It was true, The Boy was looking more and more like The Old Man the older he grew.   She would come to her senses and giggle like she knew the mistake.  All was normal again. 

The Old Man was getting older.  He would do incredible things for a man of his age.  He would put hands flat on the ground in front of him then place a boot atop the fence and reach down to the ground of the other boot.  This showed he still had mastery over his body.  However, he relied on The Dad and The Boy for more manual things.  He was after all over 100 years old. 

The Boy visited, Practiced with and took much advise from The Dad while they were both under the close scrutiny of The Old Man, who was always smiling and laughing.  His best teaching technique.  It was All Good.  

The Boy returned home to New Hampshire.  He was no longer an employee of the Governmental Military complex, but a self employed man that occasionally worked for a local school system.  The rumor was that He was Good with teens, but he would never let the secret out.  All was Good.

A few years after His visit a message reached The Boy that The Grandma and The Old Man had passed into the West, beyond the setting sun to the Happy Hunting Ground.  They had both been living in the shared room at a local retirement home.  She was dealing with the last stages of Dementia and The Old Man just because he was with her.  Approaching the age of ultimate wisdom The Old Man enjoyed the company of the home.  The Old Man passed in his sleep in the Fall,  He was found on his side facing the Western window, he had let go the spirit.  The Grandma had a lucid moment and asked the nursing staff, "Is That Hoot?"  They had to break the sad News that The Old Man had passed in the night.  Three days later The Grandma was found by nursing staff in her bed.  She had passed in the night in the same position that The Old Man was found in.  She was 93 years old.  The Old Man was 111 years old, and was a Real Life Cowboy.  

Peace and Balance,

John