Simple

We visited Mother today. She was contemplating a Gift for someone Special. Her Face lit up and she said: "How about a box of Apples and Oranges?"

She went on to say: "Uncle Harl and Aunt Clara used to bring a box of Apples and Oranges whenever they would come in the Wnter. Back in those times, they were hard to come by. Back then, that was really special."

Mother's Uncle Harl and Aunt Clara lived in Neodesha, Kansas, the early part of the 20th Century. Uncle Harl was an Osteopathic Physician there. Aunt Clara was my Grandfather Fred Albert Brenz's Sister. They would return to Kirksville, where Clara's Mother Matilda Brenz, her Sister Della, and her brother Fred lived.

Uncle Harl ("Harley Samuel Wiles") was also from the area. He had graduated from the American School of Osteopathy and routinely returned for reunions and trainings. I believe Uncle Harl passed in 1939. His obituary says that he had not been well for over 3 years before. That gives me a bit of a frame on "dates". Mother always said that Uncle Harl was her favorite Uncle. He surely must have been a Jolly Soul. Mother was 17 in 1939.

I have been mulling over such a simple but meaningful Gift. It seems like those simple things "light people up". These days, we go through material things so quickly, they are less likely to warm the Spirit. How do we return to "simple"? That's our plan right here on the Farm.