keep silent watch
The hills and trees were fantastic. Everyone seemed to agree it was one of the most beautiful autumns ever. I wish I could put the color of the trees to paper. In that respect, the painter has an advantage over the writer. Still, I doubt if any painter ever put such color to canvas as the woods have displayed this year.
But even as the colors have faded, day by day, Nature’s other beauties take over. Most of the brilliant leaves are gone. The oak’s brown hangs on, like an old bag lady of the forest’s streets. The goldenrod has turned a fragile gray, each delicate clump hanging on a leafless stem. It snowed last Sunday, and every weed became a jewel, every tree a miracle.
The cedar below the yard was capped with snow, and its companion, a hickory, thrust its snow-tipped naked branches into a wintry sky. Someone suggested we should cut the cedar. Oh, no! The two of them seem bound together, supporting each other. During the summer and fall, the hickory stands out, first green with youth and then golden as the year ages, but in winter, the cedar, which has seemed unimportant all year, comes into its own. It gives us the green of hope all year. It promises that, come spring, those bare lined trees now unable to hide their nakedness, will again be clothed in splendor.
I keep harkening back to the beauty of the leaves this fall. Walking down the road, I felt like I was in a child’s paint box, with the colors splashing all around me. Even the oaks, which usually turn a deadly dull brown, this year, were a velvet burgundy, and every hill was aflame with red and gold.
Life is so peaceful here.
Nellie Ann Lanham
The hickory and the cedar still stand tall outside the windows of our parent’s country home. They keep silent watch over those who come to visit and remember. Three generations still come to stand silently and hear their voices whisper “I love you” as they have always done. They are bound together, supporting each other, loving each other for now and forever.
Chuck
I was so fortunate to have worked with your mother at the Monroe City News. What a great gift was her writing for the newspaper and the community. She and Juanita were always the voice of reason stopping me from publishing an editorial that I felt strongly about but shouldn’t see the light of day.
Thank you so much for sharing Nellie Ann’s words. I too think of her and Bob often and miss them dearly.
Mike Sell
Former Editor & Publisher
Monroe City News
Monroe City, MO
I remember well the subscription my parents got of the Monroe City News and each time I raced to see what my Aunt had written, she often used stories that pertained to her own family. I always felt like I was part of it and could relate to each article she wrote.
She always made me welcomed and I printed these words you shared with us and it will forever hang on a wall somewhere in my home. Thanks cousin.
Tim Lanham