Morning and Memories.

It is so quiet..........shhhhhhh.  The rain has stopped.  All of the earth is etched in the splendor of tears.  The angels wept for all.......for all the suffering, trials and tribulations.  The wind so gentle now, parted the leaves on the branches.......a bold young squirrel stood on the limb, in his domain and surveyed the fall acorn harvest.  "Much to do, much to do".......and then he raced ever higher into the dizzying array of acorns.  They will soon follow the falling leaves........begin to pepper the roof and sidewalk like tiny missiles.  They fly, bounce, attack and finally roll to become part of the bounty of fall.  The sheer number of acorns is astonishing.  They will cover the earth........I love the small acorn hats.......I  draped small sprays of fall leaves in a large earthen vase.  Have a vintage sundae glass filled with freshly bloomed roses.........so lush......crimson, velvety soft.
From my window.......I can see rich saffron, ever deepening reds, softer browns, beautiful hues of autumn painting the landscape......the earth is preparing for sleep.  So tired after a long summer of growth.......rest well and bring back the rich treasures of moss and bold happy dandelions.......let the leaves protect the new plant babies until spring. 
We were little girls still, the boys were already off at school.  Daddy piled us in the family car and drove us to the mighty Mississippi.  We crossed the big iron & steel bridge into Prairie Du Chen, Wisconsin.  We felt exotic leaving Iowa behind even for a few minutes.  We stared at the rolling river and listened to Daddy's endless jokes.  A sign would say "Stop Ahead" and Daddy would grab the closest noggin he could and hold on.......whaaaaaaat?  Daaaaaaaaaddy!  He would joke, I'm following the rules, I am stopping A HEAD........we would groan..........Dad loved corny jokes as much as he loved his beloved Iowa.  He would pass by a cemetary, point and say, "How many of those folks do you think are dead?"
Being raised in the era of the corner drugstore contest, "How many jelly beans are in the jar" we weren't sure what to guess..........he would joke and ruffle our hair.....he would release a big sigh...."My children are slow.......they're all dead, it's um duh a cemetery.  Do ya get it?  Do ya get that joke?"  He was a silly bucket of bones.
We would drive through the cool rainy fall and he would take us for familiar favorite treats.  Snow white popcorn popped right in front of our eyes........it smelled like heaven.  Dad assured us that this snow white corn was the best of the best of the best and we believed him through and through.  It was lighter, fluffier, crunchier and sweeter than any other corn.  We pitied the everyday yellow corn kernels and reveled in the magic of snowy white popcorn bliss.  Then it was on to the old empty button factory.........semi hidden on the shore of the river........we would walk with our big mason jars and collect the beautiful shell buttons.  So many colors, shapes, searching for the ones with iridescence.  We loved the button factory grounds, we loved gathering treasure.........thinking how unbelievable it was that it was all right there just laying on the ground for us to delight in.  Our Daddy knew how to make a trip into an adventure.  We had very little money.......but he made it splendid. 
Grand, wonderful..........we would stop for warm sugary freshly made fudge or watch the candy makers turn sugar and flour into magic.........soft fluffy Divinity........tiny little soft crumbly wedding cookies covered in powdered sugar.  We would park our car and listen to the reminder to try to conduct ourselves like human beans and not act like a tribe of little heathens.  We would march into a state run Iowa Rest Stop and gaze at all the beautiful glossy brochures.......so many wonders to choose from.  Caverns, trails, water falls, factories, plays, festivals, music, it was dizzying to walk in and find this huge array of choice right at our fingertips.  The staff would share and guide us..........pointing out the wonders of our state.  Sharing the behind the scenes info on all the displays........Dad was in his element, Iowa was not just a place to live, to him it was more than the ONLY WAY it was I O WAY>>>>>>>>>the way life should be.  Dad was (save to us), the quietly staunch unknown champion of all things Iowan.   As we grew older we dubbed him "the not so silent partner for the Iowa Chamber of Commerce".  They should have put him on the payroll........but I digress.
We would go see it's wonders........go to the Effigy Mounds and stare in wonder at these sacred earthen Indian burial hills overlooking the mighty Mississippi.  We would ride cable cars to the top of the bluffs.........we would eat pancakes at a local small town church pancake breakfast until we popped.  Dad found ways to feed us on the cheap........and give us a sense of people everywhere we went.  We didn't know that we had limited funds, that the pancake breakfast with airy light flapjacks, fresh fluffy scrambled eggs and country bacon, sausage and ham was the only affordable way we could eat..........LOL.  We loved sitting in the noisy happy neighborly camaraderie of nice church people who welcomed us........Daddy and his three helpers, his little girls. 
He had a knack for finding small town events providing super savings on food.  God Bless His Resourcefulness.  We couldn't afford a lot of restaurants.  Restaurants were an unusual deal for us growing up........rarely did we go in and when we did we savored it all.  We used to love going to Bishop's.  Despite having to wear our Sunday best........hair roped into acceptable manageable shape and constricting itchy clothes, those mean scratchy petticoats.......petroleum jelly freshly glossing our patent leather shoes.........if we were good, not only did we get some of that famous Bishop's crisp fried chicken and deeeeeeelicious pie.........we got a free balloon.  Each balloon had a pair of handsome cardboard shoes attached.  It was grand, it was colossal, it made us sigh with such happy, sleepy contentment on the long car ride home. 
We learned contentment with small things, never knowing they were small............and now looking back I can see that they were just as we thought..........they WERE grand, amazing and colossal.  Created a patchwork quilt of autumn colors & family memories.........like the soft fuzzy pussy willows & cat tails we used to gather to decorate our home.  The pumpkins we used to bring in from our garden to turn into jack o' lanterns.
We used to rake the leaves into architectural designs.......create our dream homes............a long line of leaves to cordon off the kitchen, the bedrooms, the living room........the play room as if.........dreams ALLOWED there to even be a playroom just for us. Later we would rake the leaves into a mighty pile and jump......that is serious fun.  A big thick pile of freshly fallen leaves smells so good.........earthy, just the right amount of twigs with a hint of dirt.......an intoxicating bouquet for children of all ages...........we would pile the leaves as high as humanly possible and leap off the cistern or the seat of the picnic table and land in a joyous breathless heap.........now that was LIVING!
My wish of the day would be to sit with all ya'll at a friendly small town pancake breakfast.......they warm the homemade maple syrup --- everything is delicious.........we could sit and swap tall tales and corny jokes......hugs, Sparrow