Who do I remember that influenced me when I was a child? It had to be Roosevelt and Bessie. Aren't those names enough to tell you that they are interesting already? Roosevelt was an old farmer friend of my folks and Bessie was his wife. She was a frail, thin woman, and I really never knew what caused her tiny weak body to bearly be able to swallow when he gave her bites of food. She would so slowly work that tiny piece of food around in her mouth, and then with great effort finally let it go down her tiny throat.
Every Saturday night we would stop by for a visit, after our trip to town to get our groceries with the egg money mom had collected that week. We would quietly enter the house and there she sat in an old wooden wheelchair with blocks under crooked feet holding them up so they didn't dangle. She would watch T.V. and smile, trying to speak in her weak voice, that almost scared me,. .
I don't remember ever going any farther than that one room. There was no need for them to use the parlor, she only sat in her chair all day, waiting for Roosevelt to come in from chores or doing his farming.
As we drank kool-aid and told them about our week at school and home I think I was learning that God was preparing me for a life of service to the elderly and the disabled in my adult life. My choice of professions was not one of high salaries and fame, but it was instilled in me that love and devotion that I saw in Roosevelts heart for his dear Bessie. It was a gift he gave to me
and he never even knew.