Robin and I went to the Williamson County Fair last night; needless to say I am quite tired this morning, but it was so much fun. I had not been to a fair in over 10 years, but it was a little more expensive than I thought.
There was one section that was called the "Old Days", and there were quilts, lanterns, weaved baskets, looms, and the sad part is that I remember some of these items from my childhood. I'm not as old as some of my friends (Paulette, Lori, Georgia, Vicki and etc.); I bet they would remember all of these old, precious things.
One of the people manning this exhibit told us a story; I'll never forget her telling it, and I wanted to share with you. There was this beautiful quilt hanging on the wall; during last year's fair, everyone could participate in creating a quilt square that would be quilted together for display this year. She said that this big, burly, tattooed man came up to her, and asked if he could create a square. Of course, and he put together this purple star burst with a dark color in the background. The attendant asked him if there was a story behind that square; he said yes, and began to tell his story. His mother had passed away within the past year; he wasn't able to go to the funeral due that he was in prison, and they wouldn't let him out to go. Purple was his mother's favorite color, the dark color of the background was how he felt about not being able to go to the funeral. He thanked the person who helped him put together this quilt piece; he said it helped him to have closure. Everyone in the exhibit was hoping that he would come back this year to see his square quilted together with all the other squares; they had it displayed on the back wall of the exhibit.
The lady telling this story to us said, "You never know who you are going touch, or even help out"! She had an image of this guy with all the tattoos, being in prison to be such a bad guy, but it turned out he was just a big old teddy bear. (That was her exact words.)
Don't judge a book by it's cover, and no matter how much stuff you have or don't have, there's still a chance that you can help someone else. This was just a quilt square to most of the other people creating them, but it meant the world to this man who seemed to love his mother dearly.
Amazing, Amazing story that brought a tear to both Robin and my eyes; I sure hope he came back to the fair this year to see that quilt! I wished they were creating squares to make a quilt for next year's fair; I would have made one, and tried to put as much thought into as this nice man did.
My family was reunited with my niece and her new family last year; we were fortunate to spend some great times with them while they were living close to us in Ft. Campbell, but now they have moved to be near my niece's husband's family in Arizona. He is going to be working with the police department now, and she'll be working at a local hospital. Currently they are looking for their own home, so they can get settled in.
