THE SUM TOTAL - Readers Cast (Neil) - Aug 30, 2018
THE SUM TOTAL
Recently my neighbor of over 40 years suffered some physical problems and he could no longer live alone in his home just across the hedge from my house. In all the years that I have lived here he has always been there just across the hedge. A Korean war veteran he loved to see my flag flying. A hunter and fisherman I tied special flies for him according to his instructions. I watched his only son grow up, I watched him bury his wife and I watched him grow old. Vertigo in his later years limited his ability to continue to hunt and fish and finally time and chance overtook him. His son put the house up for sale and held an estate sale to clear out the accumulation of nearly 90 years of life. I wandered through the yard looking at the various items now up for sale; tackle boxes filled with various lures, a few old rods and reels, tools, and various items to numerous to mention. People showed up and one by one the items were sold and then all was quiet. Seemingly in a moment a life came down to a few items for sale to strangers. Later, when I spoke to his son as he cleared out the last few remaining items, he noted that it had been hard for him to clear out his dad?s stuff. Suddenly it flashed across my mind that to the son it was only stuff, but to his dad it had been his life.
