Autumn Secrets

The turboprop commuter plane to central Pennsylvania was a thrilling ride for Rob. Flying lower than any jet craft, he could easily see the mountains and the vast array of changing colors below him. It was a picture-perfect day to be in the air. The October weather showed none of the humidity that hazed over the same landscape during the summer months. Below him lay endless contoured fields of green, brown, and golden tan. The gentle rolling hills nestled in between the mountains required the free-flowing waves of contoured plantings to reduce erosion. The result was a beautiful landscape unlike the large open fields of typical heartland states Illinois and Iowa. Rob could see that the farmers were just beginning to harvest their rows of corn and soybeans, grown principally as feed for the hungry Holstein and Guernsey cattle varieties common to the area. Some of these animals would provide the necessary milk for all that delicious Hershey chocolate.

Rob suddenly craved one of those delectable boxes of Wilbur chocolate from Lititz, Pa. His mother would always send him a box of the chocolate teardrop shaped buds with a lovely card each Christmas but, since her passing several years ago, the sweets had stopped coming. Her death had saddened him deeply. He would always remember her as a gentle woman, and that his father had loved her so deeply. He never considered remarriage, which did not surprise Rob in the least. In Rob’s mind, if there were a God and a heaven, they would one day be together as a couple with Him. He knew enough to know that there was no theological basis for this, but the thought sure sounded good.

Rob wondered to himself how content those farmers were. He knew that many were college graduates from the State’s agricultural department who provided for their families at times well below the average American’s income. Weather, fuel cost, equipment expense, interest rates, crop and milk prices all played such an uncertainty in their lives. Yet, despite all that, they appeared content and usually lived to ripe old ages, unlike most Americans prone to heart attacks. They must have been doing something right he thought. Was it the clean living or their dogged faith in the Almighty?

So who had the answers to happiness? Those farmers probably experienced many bad days, he thought, but did they need anti-depressant drugs to cope? Not very likely, he surmised. Maybe I took the wrong path, he pondered doubtfully. Then his thoughts turned to Emily, and he remembered he had not erred too much. It still would not hurt to talk to his old friend, God.

Rob believed in God and heaven, but he did not want any part of the lifestyle his family chose. He had not opened a Bible in at least a decade. The world was too big an enticement for this prodigal son. He did not end up living with pigs, though his mother might disagree. As far as Rob was concerned he turned out fine, though admittedly there where several barnyard animals in his circle of friends. There were many suspect animals in Rob’s world in general. When Jimbo met him at the airport, it became clear that too many years had passed. Rob did not even recognize his old pal until he saw that infectious smile spread wide.