The Cracked Acorn: Memory

And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. Genesis 2:22

It was Friday. June 14,2019. The weather had been predicted to be sunny and breezy. I decided to drive to Front Royal, VA and take Route 340 south to Luray;I had never traveled this road before; the 24 miles went by quickly and soon I was shown the sign of Route 211 back east to Warrenton. I was very familiar with this road, I had taken it several times over the years to visit family in Kentucky. I retired 2004 and had not been this far out on 211 for for 15 years. Shops were closed but Jellystone Camping Park was still active and well painted and kept up.

I had about reached the foot of Blue Ridge Park, Brookside Restaurant appeared to be closed, for good. On the other side, right side was the Pineland Souvenir Shop. It appeared to have been closed for more than 10 years, vines had grown completely over the doors. Many years ago when I had my 1984 Dodge Caravan, my wife and I had come out this far on a hot summer day for a meal somewhere and when we saw this shop, I pulled over and parked. It was long, with several sliding doors that were raised for display and inside several aisles of tables. We were there the better part of an hour. Gloria was interested in all of it. I remember looking across at her, she was leaning over and staring intensely at some item that had caught her eye. There was a room at the far end given over to Elvis displays: lamps, pictures of all sizes and all devoted to the icon of the past. My loved one bought several gifts intended for friends, and then we stopped at a restaurant in Sperryville, also now closed for many years.

These were early years when after Thanksgiving, churches and homes were open with arts & crafts for sale, we went to most all of these. All this had gone away, I guess that the internet, Walmart and catalogs filling the mailbox have caused people to shop elsewhere or through the mail. My wife as most of you know , passed away last December 13th. If she was still in good health, she would have been disappointed to learn that the Pineland Gift shop was gone and the restaurant in Sperryville.

The two back bedrooms are still filled with items she intended to wrap and give away. Many times she had come to my home office and had lists of small things out of the catalogs that I ordered for her over the internet. The country size mailbox really got a workout. Word must have gotten around that she is gone, no more catalogs and hardly any delivered mail. Calendars were ordered over the NET about every year for neighbors and again…friends.

For days now, I can’t get that picture out of my mind of what had caught her attention at that shop on a day so long ago. Maybe some day in another place, I can ask her.
When I saw her last at the nursing home…I could only say,”You have been a good person!”