Old Meets New

Dear Diary,

When I went to visit my friend Dotty I was taken by the dramatic sky and the roof lines of her 200 year old farmhouse.  I also liked the juncture of the old rusted roof with the new one.

She told me that her father's hired farmhand use to sleep in that room on the right.  That was 80+ years ago when her father ran a dairy farm here. It hasn't been a working farm in 40 years.  I spent a couple of hours with her recording her memories of growing up on the farm.  She was born here 94 years ago in the same room she now sleeps in.  "And I plan to die in the same room!" she told me.

I've written before about the idea of stability.  This farm was built by her family over 200 years ago and never lived in by any other family.  I recently learned that my grandmothers homestead, built by her ancestor in 1774, is still own by her niece's grandchild...still in the family and still a working farm!  I will be visiting it later this month and I'm very excited about meeting family members I've never met before.  I can't wait to hear their stories.

The most powerful words in the English language are "Tell me a story..."

Pat Conroy