Working?

I thought I would write a quick something for everyone. Not because I particularly have much to say, but because I wanted to share an old picture with you.

If you have read my book, Better to Be Broken, I talk a little bit about the small town of Shapleigh, Maine that I grew up in. When I say small, I mean it. I still grin to myself over small town families, politics and overall “social” life. I do realize of course that this picture is probably about 80 years old and that life was very different then, small town or city.

The picture is of my Great Grand-father, Charles Otis Huntress I. My dad wears the moniker of Charles Otis Huntress II, but I am glad it stopped there. The Huntress family in Shapleigh had the grand honor (at that time) of having the only gas pump in town in front of a very rustic C. O. Huntress country store. The bare feet tells it all. There was certainly nothing pompous about him or his business. Not at all like the Olsen’s Mercantile in “Little House on the Prairie.”

I knew my Great Grand-father very well. He died when I was 18. I loved to sit and listen to him tell stories about the town and the residents. Somewhere in there I am sure there is a novel to be written.

Life was simple and uncomplicated. That certainly sounds nice compared to some days now. I hope you enjoy the picture, and maybe dig through the box you have buried in the back of your closet to smile over some of your own memories.