220227 Sentinel, How The Dream Began

The first time I was ever on a farm was in 1953.
That year was the only family vacation we ever went on.
We headed out with mom, dad and me along with mom’s Aunt Kate and her husband. We were to drop them off on our way at their farm in Washington, Missouri. We spent a few days with them before leaving on other pursuits. On their farm I had the run of its 160 acres. I was in heaven. There were so many things for me to do there. The place was rustic with a very old house, a large barn, a grain storage building and an outhouse and a large pond stocked with fish . The adults went fishing early in the day and I roamed all over that 160 acres. There was a large wooded area with a small creek. I walked all over the entire area and filled myself with dreams of having a farm at some point in my life. The barn was filled with hay bales that I could climb over and explore every inch of its 2 stories and swing from ropes hanging in there. The grain building had black snakes in it to keep the mouse population from eating their corn. I was not happy seeing them, so I didn’t spend a lot of time there. In the heat of the afternoon after the fishing was over I could paddle their boat around and swim in the pond. For the first time in my life I had no boundaries around me. That was 69 years ago, but it made an impression I have never forgotten.
In 1974 Joyce and I bought a small 4 acre place where we grew all of our produce and I had my first TV shop in an old rock house that Joyce and a contractor did a restoration on the rock house while I did contract work in 2 other TV shops in the area. My business was doing well at first until the small depression in 1975 when everything fell apart.

Then again in 1989 we bought another larger farm where we lived for 27 years, growing a large garden and raising sheep and cow calves. We stayed there as long as we could keep the place going, but eventually we could not maintain it any longer and we wanted to sell out and move back to a town where we lived until Joyce passed on. I am still there with all of my memories of days gone by. To quote Joe Walsh, “Life has been good to me so far.”
My exception to that phrase is the loss of Joyce due to a second aneurysm in September of last year. My life now is still good with that one exception. I had everything planned out and set up for her after I passed away, but she jumped ahead of me in line. She was always better than I have been in my life. God rest her beautiful soul.