October 31, 2012. Harper, Texas. Distance.

My son David was surprised when he looked at Wendy's pictures of the old farm house.    He said that it never looked so derelict in real life, at least, not in his memory.  The truth was really seen in the picture but the distance from then to now is almost forty years, and memory does wonderful things.  What he is remembering was the thousands of good times we had at that old farm and he is not paying any thought to the primitive old house in which we stayed.

For us, it was much better than camping.  We left staples in the kitchen, and the beds were all ready for us when we arrived on Friday.  The boys had much freedom at the farm.  They played with weapons;  first with sling shots, then BB guns and finally a 22 rifle.  They sometimes shot five hundred rounds on a weekend.  No wonder they became good shots.

My sister in law Wilma, when she saw the picture of the old farm,  commented to me that we have come a long way, which would be true.  But the path to the homes we own now started with that derelict old farm house.  It is certainly true, that the most important step in any journey is the first step.  The distance from then to now, a distance of almost forty years, all began with that first country property.