I spent my summers on my Aunt Mary’s and Uncle Howard’s Farm in Ohio. It was a magical time for a kid, but I didn’t see much of my uncle. He had little time for ‘play’ and none for children. He got up before sunrise and after dinner he would hunch over the old radio and listen to the farm report before he went upstairs to bed. He was a quiet man and barely spoke to me. Of course, there was the occasional gentle tug on my pigtail when he walked by.
Even though I thought he wasn’t paying any attention to me he did keep an eye on the little ‘city mouse’ . One day I leaned over a pen where a HUGE sow with piglets was holding reign. AND I FELL IN! She rushed me with a roar and just before she got to me my uncle reached over and grabbed me by the back of my overalls and jerked me up. She hit the fence so hard I could hear the wood cracking. He never said a word…just held me tight against his chest for a while.
We moved to California when I was 12 and I didn’t see my aunt and uncle for many years. One year we returned for a visit and in the course of the visit my aunt called me over and showed me my uncle’s wallet. Inside was a faded picture of a little pigtailed girl smiling up at the camera…I don’t even remember the picture being taken. Aunt Mary smiled at me and said “Howard has trouble expressing his feelings but he has always loved you so much. He’s carried this picture for years”. How often we don’t know about the ‘hidden places’ in another’s heart.