It's A Small World After All

    



                               It's A Small World After All




     Some times to put things into their proper perspective it is necessary to go back to the past or at least to a place that holds the portal to the past.
     Lil' sister Vickie has been after me to visit our cousins in Kentucky, Madeline Ruth and Tommy Navarro. They are my Grandmother Wades nieces so that makes them my second cousins. As kids we saw each other often when visiting Granny and Grandpa Wade and in many respects we grew up together. At one time Madeline Ruth and I road the back seat of Grandpa's Hudson automobile to Missouri.  Great Aunt May ( Grandpa's sister) was in the back seat with us and Elmer the family Cocker Spaniel was panting away on the deck under the rear window.
     Madeline Ruth is seriously into tracking down the roots to the family.  She has visited archives, libraries and graveyards in two states and, while I don't think it was necessary, Vickie has encouraged her. Together they have roamed several ancient burial plots within about a 150 mile radius of Smiths Grove, Kentucky.  In the process they have uncovered the grave sites of ancestors long forgotten and lost in the passage of time. Madeline Ruth's diligence has opened new chapters in the history of our ancestors and we now have new stories to pass on to future generations.
     While visiting with Madeline Ruth I took her to an appointment in Nashville, Tn. and afterwards  we went to the Mt Olivet Cemetery hoping to find the graves of two of our great, great ancestors who were buried there around 1824. The staff at Mt. Olivet were very helpful and provided us with detailed maps and directions. The burial sites were in one of the oldest parts and after much searching we found tombstones belonging to people all around but never found the markers for our relatives.  If there ever was a marker it long ago disappeared - almost two hundred years have passed. Instead of a picture of a worn moss covered gravestone we settled for a picture of the neatly mowed grass covering the general area of the burial plot - sorry,  Madeline.
     As we left the cemetery I turned right towards Donelson, Tn. where I lived and grew up as a young boy.  I wanted to see what changes have taken place since last I was there. Along the way I pointed out the location of Shady Lawn which was a road house Dad used to frequent. The building is gone but somehow I new where it used to be. Once we got into Donelson I pointed out the the buildings that once housed C&S Foods where Dad and I worked, Logans Grocery where Dad once worked is now a CVS and the site of the first fast food restaurant in Donelson ( Burger Chef , surprisingly Linda can still sing the jingle from the advertising logo ).
     I turned on to Donelson Pike and drove past the elementary school where I, Pat, and Clint learned our ABC's.  It's now a senior center. Clint and Judy attend plays there.  The building looks the same and maybe next time I will stop and see if the wooden floors have the same smell held deep in my memory.
     I drove on down the road looking for Colonial Circle.  It didn't take long to realize I had gone too.  far and had to turn around.   Then I wound up passing the house we lived in because I remembered the street to be longer, the hill to be steeper. When I found the house I saw there were changes - an addition to the right side, a carport to the left side.  Those things were expected as it was a small house to begin with.  I wanted to stop and see if the large hackberry tree in the back yard was still there and how big it is now... maybe another time.
     The thing that struck me as odd was that the rise from our house to the one next door was only about two or three feet high.  I distinctly remember it being twice as high.  We used to play king of the hill and roll down it. The street had a slight rise starting in front of the house and I remember having to pedal hard on my bicycle to get over it. The street itself is shorter than I remember.  In reality, from the house to the school is no more than 1/2 mile.  I guess when you are eight or nine years old and walking to school it was probably two miles long.
     This got me to thinking about visiting Grandpa Riggan's farm and looking for the "LARGE" cedar and oak trees that you drove between when entering his yard.  I used to play among the roots of the oak tree. The trees are still there but they are not as big as I remembered.
    Seen thru the eyes of a child I am a giant and the world is a vast and wondrous place. When you  delve into the depths of the past you should have a young child along with you to remind you of how big the world as you knew it really was because as you get older you realize that not only is life short but the world you remember was not really that big a place after all.

     I enjoyed my visit with Madeline Ruth- even the walk thru Mt. Olivet.  I particularly enjoyed her family and feel bad that it was so long since we last saw each other.  I liked talking about the past with her and hearing of the things she found out about our relations.  It makes me more enthusiastic about writing in my blog.
     Thanks,  Madeline Ruth.  I'll try to get back for another visit before another thirty years goes by.