A root of my vagabond life can be traced to my great-grandfather Ted. He had a farm in eastern Colorado (I need to learn more about this. E. CO is nearly the bleakest place on earth: flat, hot, cold, dry. Maybe the time period of settlement was particularly rainy? Not surprisingly, the populations of Genoa and Limon have decreased steadily in recent decades.) Oscar, my grandfather and Ted's oldest son, expected to inherit the farm, but it was given to his brother. Oscar worked odd jobs his whole life, including driving a truck for Carnation, and was relatively poor. My dad was Oscar's first and only son. He fixed his mind on getting a good job that allowed for a comfortable life, so he went to college and got a degree in mechanical engineering. This led to job opportunities in California. I am my dad's first and only son.
Had Ted passed the farm to Oscar, I would have been next in line for the farm. There I'd be, wishing for rain and worrying about wheat futures.
Great-grandpa Ted lived a long time, so I was able to meet him. I remember his very small dog, his quilts, and that he seemed to be a jolly guy. I'm not sure if anyone knows the reason for his choice.
So one lesson is that higher education leads to broader job opportunities that are often located far from home.
It's funny that despite the huge shuffling of people, unexpected reunions happen all the time. The adults in the group below knew each other in Los Alamos, and somehow for this very brief moment we were all together in Abq.
Very cool.
2 comments:
I just drove through Limon on Wednesday evening. It is pretty bleak! And windy! And tumbleweeds!
That's a wonderful picture- sure do miss those women! Thanks for posting it.
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