 |
| The short simple
sentence my mother spoke puzzled me. Somehow I sensed
what she was saying meant much more than my ears were
hearing or my nine year old mind was capable of
understanding. |
| Late one August
evening my mother, my Aunt Thelma and I were relaxing high on a
hill that overlooks the river and mills in the small steel town in which
we lived. The day had been a scorcher, but being a typical kid
full of energy, I had played though sweating profusely nonstop.
The cooler evening air was a welcome relief. It felt good as we
stretched out our bare legs on the soft green grass. |
Her quiet words
though in question form were more like a statement of fact. She seemed
to be talking to herself more than to my aunt or me when she said
incredibly,"How can anyone look into the sky and say there is no
God?" In the moonlight I could see her face was wearing a slight
smile and a peaceful expression of assurance. She offered no further
explanation. Drawing my dirty knees up toward my chest and wrapping
my arms around them, I mimicked her position. Tilting my head
backward I looked up into the sky, too. It was a beautiful sight.
The bright August moon was almost full and the night was crystal
clear. Countless white twinkling stars speckled the black sky.
|
The moment passed
quickly and soon was forgotten, but her words had tucked themselves
away deep in the recesses of my childish mind;"How can anyone look
up into the sky and say there is no God?" The memory of that night
and her words remained buried for over thirty years. Then one winter
day as I looked out my kitchen window and up into the sky, that simple
sentence surfaced with impact and I caught a glimpse of what might
have been in my mothers heart that night. |
Mickey Reed
cir...1983 |
