It is a common occurrence as a
person ages to realize your hometown looks more compact than it did when you
were young. Everything looks bigger to a
six year old! Ridge Marlow chuckled
slightly as he drove the rental car through the winding country roads of
Shelby, Iowa. Every visit to the small
town where he was born brought a new memory.
On this particular August morning his thoughts lingered to the time
Uncle Calvin taught him to drive. They
ventured out in an old Ford F150 along this same road leading to Shelby Elementary
School. Ridge's mother was too nervous
to teach her son how to drive and since Uncle Calvin was the only man in his
life, the responsibility fell on him.
Ridge remembered just how patient the elderly man was. It was hard to believe his favorite uncle had
been gone over ten years.
As the plain white Honda
approached the wide open hay fields south of the old school building, Ridge
could see the brick structure in the distance.
He was headed to visit a cousin suffering from cancer, but decided he
would make a stop at the former elementary school. Fortunately, the people of Shelby were
conservative and believed in preserving history. The building while over a hundred years old,
remained in good condition. The former
school was now known as Landers Community Center, named for the rural community
just outside the town limits of Shelby.
Ridge parked the car near the left
front entrance. Gazing at the structure
he once again had to chuckle at just how small it appeared. The brick building had two entrances along
the front with a concrete sidewalk running the width of the structure. The foundation was about waist high on Ridge and
had been constructed to avoid the common flood problems of south-central
Iowa.
No one appeared to be at the
community center this Thursday morning perhaps a senior luncheon or card game
was scheduled for later in the day.
Ridge climbed the steps and peered through the north door. The old gym was dark, but visible. He could see a glimmer of sunlight bouncing
off the shiny hardwood floor. The floors
were still beautiful after all these years.
He remembered many games of dodge ball in the gym.
Ridge decided to look around the
property and admire some of the upgrades and changes to the grounds. He rounded the northwest corner and was
stunned to see a lady sitting on a bench facing a wooded area. He couldn't tell who she was and was wary about
approaching at first. There were no
other cars in the parking lot and no house for at least a mile. He cleared his throat, "excuse me
ma'am." A little startled the woman
jumped to her feet and turned to face Ridge.
She placed her hands on her swollen belly, clearly nearing her delivery
date and smiled, "Ridge Marlow, is that really you?"
Anna-Kate was one of the best
friends Ridge had ever known from Shelby.
They attended the elementary school for six years together and then
graduated from Shelby High. Occasionally
he would hear things about her and the family through his mother, but they had
not laid eyes on one another for over 12 years.
He recognized her right away and jogged into her open arms. Anna-Kate was lovely! She wore a floral maternity sun dress and
flip flops. It was evident she was happy
and healthy. She had that pregnancy
glow.
For hours they sat on the bench
and reminisced about times gone by. Both
had lost parents and gone through their share of hard times. Anna-Kate was happily married and expecting
her first child, while Ridge was wrapped-up in his career in New York. They chatted about the old school and how
things had changed, but also remained the same around Shelby. Anna-Kate taught at the new elementary
school, but was enjoying her time off preparing for the arrival of her
son. Ridge told his story of giving up on
his dreams of writing and now he worked as an editor for a publishing firm
watching other people's dreams come true.
Anna-Kate was saddened to hear that her school chum was not still
writing, it had always been his dream and she remembered the short stories and
essays he would bring to school and share.
The change in his demeanor while talking about writing troubled
Anna-Kate.
Ridge was so happy to see
Anna-Kate and the two vowed to remain in contact. His visit to Shelby lasted only two more days
and he was back on a plane to New York.
Two weeks later, Anna-Kate gave birth to her son, John Lee Colley. She and her husband were overjoyed. Several attempts had been made to have a
child, but Anna-Kate suffered three miscarriages in the last five years. John was her miracle baby.
Anna-Kate decided not to return to
her job until the new term began in January.
During the Christmas holidays she kept thinking of her visit with
Ridge. She thought about the sadness in
his eyes when he was speaking about his career.
She felt heavy hearted that the little boy who was so talented in school
had forgotten just how much he stood out in Shelby, Iowa. She wrote him a long letter.
The winter was wet and cold in New
York. Ridge stepped off the subway in
Chelsea and ventured up to the street level near his apartment building. It had been a long day at the office and he
just wanted to get home. He rounded the
block and came face to face with his assailant.
Ridge was not ready for the encounter.
Although it was a common occurrence in some areas of New York, the more
affluent neighborhoods like Chelsea saw little crime. Most New Yorkers know the drill; give them
what they want, but sometimes even that is not enough. Ridge heard the sound of the blade ripping
through his flesh before he actually felt the pain. In fact, he felt the impact of the sidewalk
before the burning sensation in his abdomen.
Shocked and struggling to breathe, he didn't even attempt to
scream. As he lay on the street, his
mind drifted to Shelby, Iowa. Surely, it
wasn't meant to end this way? He longed
to be back among the hay fields, country roads, and old school building where
his dream once danced vivid in his mind.
Ridge felt his life was slipping away and closed his eyes wishing for
the end to come quickly. He drifted to
sleep.
Once the cloud of pain killers
began to lift, Ridge realized he was alive and in the hospital. Friends and co-workers had come and gone and
prayed for his recovery. Surgery was
successful and there would be no reason Ridge couldn't return to his daily
life; no physical reason. Ridge realized
he had not been happy in a very long
time. His visit to Shelby weighed on his
mind. He had never considered moving
back until now. The table near his bed
contained his mail from home. A friend
had picked up clothing, toiletries, etc. from his apartment. He immediately noticed the postmark from Des
Moines. He ripped open the letter to
find a beautifully written note on pink stationary.
Anna-Kate reminded Ridge of the
boy she used to know. She quoted a line
from his speech at graduation. She
reprimanded him for letting his dream go and shared her story of wanting to
have a son. She went into great detail
about what she had experienced, but knew if she persevered her dream would come
true. She talked about small town values
and ethics and how faith is stronger than doubt. She reminded Ridge of the young man who stood
out from the crowd in Shelby. He
realized he was tired of being "lost" in the city.
With faith and his life savings in
tow, Ridge returned to a simpler life in Shelby. He bought a beautiful country house on two
acres and began to enjoy the new life.
He saw Anna-Kate and her family often and even attended church service
at the same congregation. Before long he
was publishing short stories, magazine columns, and negotiating with his old
publisher on his first book. The
creativity seemed to flow so freely with the simpler more peaceful life.
Fifteen years later, Ridge had
published 7 books, 4 of them bestsellers.
He was able to travel and see the world, speak at various colleges and
conduct creative writing seminars for thousands of aspiring writers. He continued to call Shelby his home. The small town remained his refuge.
Months had gone by since Ridge and
Anna-Kate spoke. He heard the news
through a mutual friend that she was battling breast cancer. He was devastated. He tried calling her home, but there was no
answer. He knew that he needed to find
her and offer his prayers, support, or whatever he could do. He knew her husband and son, now nearly 16,
must be worried sick.
Ridge decided to visit Anna-Kate's
home. As he approached the old school,
he decided to stop in and sit for a moment on her favorite bench to gather his
thoughts and compose himself before seeing her.
To his surprise there she sat.
There was no long flowing hair this time, it had all fallen out. She had a colorful scarf tied around her
head. Her eyes were sunken and red. She had lost weight and seemed quite
frail. She struggled to stand, but
greeted her friend with a smile. He
fought back tears as he noticed his latest book lying on the bench beside
her. The prognosis wasn't good and
Anna-Kate was worried. Mostly she feared
the sorrow John and her husband would have to endure. She truly wanted to watch her son become a
man and a parent himself. Ridge tried to
encourage her, but the medical facts seemed to overwhelm her. Suddenly he realized he had placed in his
wallet the letter Anna-Kate wrote to him before the stabbing. He removed it and read it to her as they both
cried. He encouraged her to continue to
fight on and she would realize her next dream of becoming a grandmother.
Ridge researched hospitals all
over the country and found a program that he felt would be beneficial to
Anna-Kate. He visited with her and the
family and shared the information. The
expense would be too great for the Colley’s to handle and the insurance would
not approve all experimental treatment.
Ridge insisted that they at least make a visit to the facility in
Texas. He booked the travel and
accompanied the family.
After the tests were performed,
the doctors gathered and presented a plan.
The cost would be more than $500,000 above her insurance coverage. Before Anna-Kate had time to decline the
offer, Ridge opened his checkbook and presented the doctors with full payment.
Several months went by and one day
Ridge got the best call. Anna-Kate
sounded so happy. She was officially in
remission. She was feeling much stronger
and excited about returning to work. The
two old friends laughed and cried. They
talked about the friendship and how much genuine love was shared. At church service on Sunday the congregation
celebrated and gave praise for answered prayers.
Happy years passed by and John
Colley married and gave his mother three grandsons, one of which he named for
his uncle Ridge. Anna-Kate retired from
teaching and helped her daughter-n-law raise the children. Ridge continued to write and publish more
books. He even adapted one into a major
motion picture.
The town of Shelby began to grow
and was accepted as a site for a new auto manufacturing plant. Thousands of jobs were coming to the
area. The economy of southern Iowa would
be hugely impacted by the advancement.
The downside of the announcement was the property being used housed the
Landers Community Center, formerly the old Shelby School. Both Anna-Kate and Ridge did everything they
could to help relocate the plant and save the school, but the town council’s
minds were made up. It was necessary to
move forward with the project.
At sixty years old, Anna-Kate and
Ridge joined hands and walked out to their favorite bench one last time. The wind blew against their faces and they
sat in silence thinking about how their lives had been changed time and again by the old school. They wondered how many other friendships had
been built within the walls of the old brick structure and on its grounds. The two friends looked into one another's
eyes and realized they had shared a great blessing and perhaps the school
itself had been built just for them. The
friendship and genuine love for one another would continue long after the
building was gone. Brick and mortar may
not stand for eternity, but the soul surely will.
The End
