There is a Story in the Fire

Last Saturday afternoon I decided to attend an event at the local library. It was put on by a pro author and it was very well done. She was famous and she was a teacher, a PhD in writing. In the seminar she talked about  perfecting writing by using a system.  She talked about the purpose of writing and some common mistakes people make. Questions like, are you writing for others or for yourself? What do you want your style to be etc. etc.  I went back after the class and read a few of these blogs and was kind of sad to find that
 I really am not able to identify any style. I am not sure I am doing these for myself  or others. The next time I sat down to write I got kind of stuck thinking about all this stuff.  Perhaps the only style I can identify is what I might call the "drip method".  This is a style that was not even one she had on the page. What happens is that as thoughts come to mind, my fingers move and words kind of drip out on to the page.  I will leave the pro writing to others but for now I want to tell you a little about Alden. At least let me get a little creative and reverse the order.  Here it goes.......

Ever had an interesting night? One that you can immerse yourself in. A moment that makes you feel something that you are just not able to feel at any other time. We kinda had one of those nights last weekend.  My son Alden had a big party "gathering" at his home in Grand Rapids.  He had invited one of the more interesting groups of people. The kitchen was full of foreign languages.  A pork was being roasted and a couple of turkeys.  The food was plentiful and people just kept showing up. And oh yes he did have a few "milkshakes" on hand.  People would come and go, they would flow in and out.  I nice fall night that fit in between the raindrops and just kind of worked out.  His buddy Todd had loaned to him a portable fire pit and his father in law, Walt, had brought down a few sticks of wood.  As they burned and moldered in to the night air I sat there and watched them.  For about ten minutes I watched the flames and it was during this time that I thought of our son Alden. Please permit me to relay a few moments of our experience and life with Alden.

It was just two weeks before that my son invited me to spend a day of fishing with him on the Pier Marquette River. Over the years he has adopted this hobby and now he really knows what he is doing.  He has a good friend, Dave, that owns a boat and shares his passion for fishing.  We started at 7 in the morning and quit at 8 at night and we hooked about 40 of the strongest fish  (large Salmon) I have ever encountered. Watching  these guys handle this river (and Alden's inexperienced fishing father) was one of the neater happenings I have been involved in.

It was not long before that that we attended a wedding.  It was held in the small town of Leeland.  My Dad performed the ceremony, my son Ross and daughter in law did the music and Alden and Mary had a wonderful wedding celebration.  As I watched the fire last night I recalled these events and kind of saw them over again. Alden and Mary were now together and for us that was a dream. Her family put on a nice wedding. It was a cold day in August but the warmth of the wedding  event overcame the cold day.

It was just 2 1/2 years before that.  We had a bunch of young people came to our house for dinner. At that time Alden and 4 girls came over. It was on this night that I said to Alden.  "There is one person at that table that is really special.  I have two words for you, marry Mary".  He did not listen all that much but it did work out this way after several year of them insisting that they were just friends.  That night and still today Mary has the attribute of being one of the easiest people to be around that we have ever known. 

It was not long before that Alden was competing for the Golf Title of the State. I had always planned to caddy for him some day in the US Open. I could kind of see he and I receiving the trophy.  He would kind of hold it up and he would  point out that his father told him about how to do his grip and stance.  It did not work out this way but I still think it could have.  I am not sure if he liked the game of golf all that much.  I will tell you that when he wants, he can really play the game.  But I think he did it more for me than for him. He now spreads his time out between many other endeavors.

It was not many years before that that we were picking out his name.  We had a guy who went to our church and his name was Alden.  I said to Deb, I really like that name and I like the guy. He ran a large bank and I wanted to choose this name for our new son.  Alden is now known by some as Talden.  He stands about 6'5". He looks a little like the man we named him after.

It was just shortly before that. We sat in an office and reviewed his ultrasound with a doctor.  The doctor told us our new son would most likely be OK  His birth took place on December 10, 1983. I came down to the nursery that night and there was one kid who was holding his head up above the bed and trying to look around.  He looked like he was going to be quite a man. As I watched the fire in his back yard last night, I visited with our family and Mary's family.  In think one of the reasons he went to all the work is so that his Mom and I could share this time with all the family and friends.  A good time was had by all.


And allow me the next time to tell you about another move, another place, a few more stories and a little more about how there can be some humor in the storms of life.... Until then...............

Stan the Man