A short story by Matt Kauffman-
There once was a boy who grew up on a farm with beautiful rolling hills. He didn't know how well he had it growing up on the farm where had freedom to roam to and fro, garden fresh produce to enjoy, and ponds and timber to play in. And of course he also learned to work hard. Hard work was never fun when it was happening but always seemed to set better after, when it could be appreciated, when it could be valued. Of course, there was always time for a lot of play too.
-One day, when the boy was about eight years old he went out and played under a large oak tree in the field. It was a beautiful summer afternoon in the low 80s and his father was mowing hay nearby. The boy played in the dirt under the shade and made forts with sticks by sticking them into the black Missouri soil side by side and then throwing rocks at them and blowing the forts up.
-
As he was digging in the soil building a second fort, his stick came across something metal. It was small and rusty, and very secure in the ground. He surveyed the situation to figure out if it was worth the hard work of digging this thing out with a stick. After all, it was probably just a broken piece of a disc or harrow from several years ago. After a few moments of thought, the boy decided to change the nature of his play from fort making to an archaeological dig. And boy was he glad he did! After a little while he pulled the steel piece out of the ground and realized he had dug up an old revolver! It was small, perhaps what a business man would keep inside his suit, and it was in the cocked position!!!!!!!!! Wow, the boy wondered what events could have transpired under that oak tree in the past that would lead to a cocked revolver buried in the dirt. One can only wonder.
-
One thing was for sure, the rusty pistol and the boy were not to part ways. In fact, years later even as a grown man, he kept that rusty pistol on a shelf in his study as a memento to adventure, freedom and the American spirit.
The End
