The Land of Plenty
Someone once said, "A picture is worth a thousand words". As a Photographer and Painter, I have found that is often the case. However, I have also found that over the years in taking the pictures I have taken and paintings the paintings I have painted, that there is always a story behind each picture. A story that needs to be told. So I have found myself turning into a bit of a storyteller.
The series of pictures you see entitled 'The Land of Plenty' have a story behind them as well. This series of photographs is a tribute to my step dad, Hersie and the labor of his hands that have turned a once boring flat piece of ground into the flowering garden that you see in this series of photographs and soon to be paintings.
When my mother approached me and told me she might be getting married soon, some 30 odd years after my father passed away, I was glad that she finally found someone that made her happy and she could build a home with.
The first time I really got to spend any time with my step dad, it was a Thanksgiving weekend at our old house. Growing up, I spent time chopping firewood, raking leaves and constantly cutting the grass and doing yard work. So when I came home to visit my parents after years of living in Florida, I did what I normally did growing up, which was to help with chores including raking leaves. Hersie, my step dad, saw me working in the front yard by myself and grabbed a rake to help without saying a word.
Our front yard was a huge sloping hill that was covered in leaves. We worked for half the day raking up leaves and Hersie helped me all day without even breaking a sweat. What amazed me about this was here was a man who was at the time, 77 years old, who never broke a sweat, never complained or said he was too tired. He worked diligently right alongside with me until our front yard had returned to its bright green color of fresh grass, instead of yard filled with leaves and twigs.
The following Christmas, my parents came to Florida to visit me to enjoy the warm weather and spend some time together. I took my parents shopping at the Millennia Mall in Orlando. In the center of the mall, there are reclining sofas and chairs for people to sit in while their loved ones shop. Hersie and I found a relaxing couch to sit on while waiting for my mom and as we sat down, my step dad turned to me and said, 'Maybe we'll get to see a good movie walk by'. I did a double take hearing my step dad say this and laughed out loud. I thought then, 'this man is hilarious'.
As I got to spend more time with Hersie, I got to know more about his character. He was silent and did not say much, kind of like me. But he always smiled, always was encouraging and everyone that met him likes him. He never says an unkind word, he is never in a bad mood, he reads his bible every night and his strength comes from his walk with God. I wish everyone could meet my step dad. Every daughter needs a father like this, every son needs a dad like this. If you could just spend time with him, you would know what I am talking about. There is just a spirit about him of peace, quiet strength and dignity that you just don’t always find in today's society.
My step dad is frail now and 87 years old. This past Thanksgiving and Christmas he suffered several strokes and is encountering memory loss. Old age is catching up with him. When I took these pictures of him last year after watching him work in his garden that blossomed into a farm, I knew then he was getting up in years and would not be here much longer. I wanted to capture these images for my mom to enjoy but also to share with others who may otherwise never get to meet my step dad.
I wish more men were like my step dad, if they were, the world would be a different place. If you could spend time with him, you would know what I am talking about. There is a radiance that comes from his countenance and a silent strength that he carries. You can sense it. In his youth, he was a Marine in the armed forces and worked as a funeral director as his career. His life may not sound spectacular or exciting but sitting back and watching how he has transformed my mother's life and my family, the people he influences and spending time with him, there is something about him that stands out.
Years ago, My parents sold the house I grew up in and moved across town to a little one story rancher with about 3 to 4 acres of land. The house was old and unimpressive and I did not think my mom would be happy relocating from the 3-story home my father built for her into this little humble house. It was smaller and less room for sure.
However, as I came to visit over the years, a strange thing occurred. This little house grew and expanded exponentially. First they remodeled the kitchen with a showroom quality kitchen, then they added on a 'Florida room' with glass doors, an extra bathroom for my mom and then, the house doubled in size when they took the upstairs attic and turned it into a loft complete with wooden floors, skylights, bathroom, a sectional sofa, walk in closets. I wanted to move back home. Well, just for the holidays.
I was amazed at what my parents were accomplishing in their golden years. The 3 acres of land that was once flat grassland and weeds over time turned into a farm and an outdoor nursery with every kind of flowering plant, hanging baskets, bird feeders, and a garden that over time grew into a farm. The place is like a mini sanctuary bustling with food producing plants, vegetables and flowers that allow them to live off the land.
This is what I refer to when I entitled this series of pictures, 'The Land of Plenty'. To see the handy-work of my parents in their golden years and what they are doing is pretty phenomenal and they are having a blast. There is quite a message here and a moral to this story.
Quite a few lessons come to mind including 'Good things come to those who wait'. 'Hard work and perseverance pay off', and 'hope for us all'. You know what I mean.
In closing, I have to say what a difference this man has made in my family's life. To see how God turned tragedy into something so amazing. I still remember when my father passed away. I was just two years old. I never knew him except from the stories that my mother told me about him.
So, I am passing on that legacy and telling you about my step dad through stories and pictures. This is his legacy. This country was built by people like him. People who worked hard to raise food, turn an ugly, shabby little house into a castle and turn a lonely old woman and her adult boys into a family once again or give them some remembrance of what a family could be and used to be.
My mom and dad have never attended an art gallery or art show or been impressed by those kinds of things. This series of pictures that I have put together are going on tour at an Art Gallery just down the street from them. I have been honored to be accepted to do a one man Art show that this piece will be in. It is my hope to share this picture and story so that his legacy will live on, years after he is gone and hopefully inspire other men, women, sons and daughters alike at art galleries across the country so that his legacy may live on a little bit longer to bless and inspire others who hear about the man called Hersie, my step dad.
