as calm as you please


Iaeger, West Virginia, 2015

Pa always grew the most amazing gardens. At an 80 degree angle. No low land in sight. Nowadays he has one small patch. Flat. He grows squash. And lettuce. And he sits in a chair to pick his beans. This chair.

Sometimes his body gives out on him. He can’t stand. Or even sit. So he lies on the ground. In the middle of his beans. Just as calm as you please.

His cat, a black cat he calls “Blackie”, comes and sits on his chest. And stares into his eyes. As he stares at the sky.

This is how he spends his days. This man. Who once held the world on his back.

My, how he loves that cat.

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