Dear
Kieran,
How
are you doing today? I am doing fine though I miss you like crazy! I am sorry
that we did not get together today; unfortunately, other people decided that we
should not. If I had my way, we would be able to get together every day! I have
made arrangements for us to get together either next Friday (Sept. 20) or
Saturday (Sept. 21), however.
How
is school going? You must be in your third week by now! What kinds of things
are you learning about in reading class? Even if some days reading class isn’t
very fun or interesting, always pay attention and try your best – there is
nothing more important to learn in school than how to read. Once you know how
to read, you can look up the answer to anything else you can learn about in
school. That’s not to say math or science or music or gym class aren’t
important – they are – but even if years later you forget what you’ve learned
in those classes, so long as you know how to read well, you’ll be able to find
the answers.
What
new stuff are you learning about in music class? You’ve always had a great
interest in music, as you enjoyed listening to songs while at home and in the
Jeep, playing with your musical instruments, and pretending to be a performing
band while plucking my acoustic guitar. You’d even make up songs and tell me
that it was a new one sang by one of the Beatles! The melody you tapped out on
the piano when we were last together on Sept. 5 was very lovely, though I could
hear a bit of sadness in it. Keep learning how to play the piano – you definitely
have talent and one day could write songs that make people very happy.
I
have been busy working but this week had the chance to take a hike through the
woods behind my farmhouse. With autumn’s arrival, the leaves have fallen off
the bottom branches, or at least the animals fattening themselves for winter
have eaten much of them bare. So at last I was able to see many of the
chipmunks and squirrels, who I’d only heard scampering through the summer, as
they made their last collections for the cold months ahead. In one small cliff
cutaway, I even spied a bee’s hive built beneath a limestone overhang. Then
while walking along a ridge, I unwittingly frightened six wild turkeys asleep
in the grass on a ravine’s side. They took off with a whoosh that scared me as much as I did them. After jumping back, I
realized what was making the hillside come alive as they took to the air; I
don’t think I’ve ever seen turkeys fly that high. Down at the ravine’s bottom,
the pond has yet to dry up, which the black bears apparently appreciate, as I
spotted their paw prints in the sand and from the trail to the green water a
path of crushed grass, the wild fresh scent of their broken stems still filling
the air. These bears must have bad table manners, though, as some of the scat
was full of acorns that appeared to be unchewed. Imagine a bear just stuffing a
paw full of acorns into his mouth and swallowing whole!
Did
you watch the football games on Sunday? My Green Bay Packers and San Diego
Chargers both lost, but the teams playing them had to come from behind to beat
them. I see your Chicago Bears won, though! And the Minnesota Vikings lost – while
I like Adrian Peterson, I don’t like the Vikings because they are the Packers’ (and
the Bears’) rival, so I was pretty happy that they lost. Maybe one day Adrian
Peterson will play for a good team like the Packers!
Well,
that is all for now. You have a good weekend and a great day in school. I will
see you next week, either on Friday or Saturday.
Love,
Dad
