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the grass grows

October 13, 2012 By Talya Tate Boerner 12 Comments

Yesterday I parked in Daddy’s parking spot. The place where he always parked his dusty farm truck, not in the carport but along the gravel road beside the field. Grass now grows through the gravel, nearly covering it. I guess he really isn’t coming back.

I still expect to see him dragging through the back door for supper, hungry yet too exhausted to eat, his jeans hanging loose and tired. I still hear him grumble about the rain shower today. Such terrible timing during cotton harvest…
On the porch, wheat from his last harvest still fills a vase. Eighteen years later.
At the Corral diner in Keiser … Are you Thomas Tate’s girl? I remember seeing your daddy drive up and down the road in front of my house at Coleman Lateral. Seems like I saw his truck ten times a day when they were pickin’ cotton… He’s been gone a long time, hasn’t he?
Yes ma’am.
In eighteen years, most everything changes.

The tree Daddy planted my senior year of high school soars over the back yard. Only a twig at the time, he transplanted it from the banks of Little River.

Grass now grows through the gravel, nearly covering his parking spot. 
I still feel the same. 
talya
Musical Pairings:

I Miss You a Little, John Michael Montgomery

Filed Under: Life, Memories Tagged With: farmers, Mississippi County, Mississippi Delta, Northeast Arkansas, Thomas Tate

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Comments

  1. Kristi Erickson says

    October 13, 2012 at 5:21 am

    Loved that one Talya – simple yet tender. And the heart shaped tree is the perfect picture to accompany.

    Reply
    • TateFarmGirl says

      October 13, 2012 at 2:33 pm

      Thanks Kristi:) When he planted that tree he thought it was something cool like a dogwood and then when it turned out to be a cottonwood we all got a laugh.

      Reply
  2. Staci Sandquist says

    October 13, 2012 at 5:24 am

    Hard to beieve it’s been so long. Wouldn’t he be amazed. I miss him.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    October 13, 2012 at 8:35 am

    I too remember your dad going in front of the house many times a day. He like all the other farmers rode down the road doing five miles an hour with their elbow extending outside the open window. Not paying any attention to anything but the field to the right or left of them.

    Reply
    • TateFarmGirl says

      October 13, 2012 at 2:33 pm

      you can tell a farmer by the snail speed of his truck, among other things.

      Reply
  4. TimH says

    October 13, 2012 at 10:07 am

    Very nice, Talya, and the heart-shaped tree you’re Dad planted for you is an amazing addition to your reminiscences of your Dad…Time goes on, the sun rises and sets, everyday, but we still have our memories of our loved ones who we keep in our hearts and minds. So, in a sense, they never totally leave us. From the stories I’ve heard of your Dad, he was an extremely hardworking man with a great sense of humor. I wish I would have had the opportunity to meet him, but growing up in the suburbs of Etowah, it was hard to get out and meet and greet people very much.=) I know your Dad would still be in love with his incredible wife, and be extra proud of his awesome daughters and his awesome grandchildren if he was still here with us, today. I’m certain he would be enjoying the fruits of his years of hard labor in supporting his awesome and loving family. I know you and Staci and your Mom miss him very much….As for me, I lost my Dad a couple of years ago, and I miss my Dad very much, too. It’s still hard to believe he’s gone, and I still have his phone number in my cell phone. I just can’t bring myself to delete it because, I suppose, I feel I will totally lose him if I did. Working a full-time job, taking accelerated art college courses, and traveling back and forth between Northeast Arkansas and Nashville on weekends didn’t leave much time for me to visit with my Dad. So, I’d call and talk to him while I was on the road to check and see how he was doing, keep him informed on the trials and tribulations in my life…haha…and also, to stay awake when I got sleepy. It didn’t matter what time of the night or day I called him, either, he was always there to talk to me. A few times when it would be 1, 2 or even 3 in the morning, out of desperation, I’d call him just so I could stay awake. I’d apologize for waking him, but he always seemed very glad to talk to me. He always had a funny story or two to share with me, and I can still here his voice and laughter in my mind. I miss him very much, and I wish they had cell phones where he is now.=) I’d really like to give him a call, and at least, just hear his voice talking to me….Anyhow, thanks again for sharing with us your beautifully and awesomely written stories. Once again, you’ve stirred my memory pot, and I get to spill it over, a little bit, on here.=) Keep on doing what you’re doing, Talya! It’s Awesome!

    Reply
  5. Anonymous says

    October 13, 2012 at 7:51 pm

    Nobody is actually gone as long as people remember the good they did. Take heart that some of the good that Thomas did is you. Very touching blog.

    Reply
  6. pittypatter says

    October 14, 2012 at 4:28 am

    As my brother said once about a friend of his who missed his dad, “I felt a little envious.” That sentiment goes for me too, while reading this post. Our dad was a carpenter and sometimes a job foreman. He worked away from home at times. See you soon. pl

    Reply
    • GraceGritsGarden says

      October 14, 2012 at 5:21 am

      Can’t wait to see you:)

      Reply
  7. Anonymous says

    October 14, 2012 at 1:06 pm

    Such profound yet tender words from the heart. Goosebumps. Loved our farming dads. Was a BIG daddy’s girl. Still am.
    Cindy “Lu”

    Reply
  8. Colene says

    October 15, 2012 at 11:32 am

    Special! Goosebumps here also!

    Reply
  9. Kelsey Erickson says

    October 18, 2012 at 9:32 am

    Incredibly touching, mom. The writing is so simple, and yet the emotions that it evokes are truly complex. Well done, per usual.

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

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