“Kellen, I am tired. Shall we return to the bench in front of the Post Office?” Kirk said. The feeling waves effect the living. Those effects were taking there toll on the older Hage member. The weary lines across his forehead were more etched. The crows feet lines at the corner of each eye were slightly deeper and more pronounced. The heart beating much faster and working to hard.
Kellen, being the bright young boy that he was, could see that his Father was in need of rest. Kellen had witnessed the struggle his Father had with cancer. He saw the debilitating regime of chemo and radiation treatments that his father went through in order to battle his cancer. Those treatments are what is effecting his Father at this moment. He knows his Father is not joking.
“Sure, we have all day. Let’s head back to the Post Office and sit a spell. We can continue on from there.” he responded in words that belied his youthful age.
Standing on the corner together they turned to the west to walk the short city block to the Post Office. Kellen taking stock of his father’s condition. Trying to gage the strength that his Father has in order to keep himself erect. Kellen had many days when he could do nothing but watch his Father rest. He learned to be protective of his fathers condition. Although proud and strong as his Father may be, Kellen knew that his efforts did not go unnoticed by his Father through those years. In fact they both new it bonded them for an eternity.
“There is no need to hurry, Father.” he said as he consciously slowed the fast pace that his father had initially set by linking his right elbow to Kirk’s left elbow. They began walking arm in arm. ”We have the rest of our lives plus the feeling wave. I think that is special, Father?
With the pace slowed they gaze west toward the post office. They could see the baseball park of the Inwood off in the distance. The sun was low in the western sky blocked by the white barn owned by Mr.Scholten just past the old railroad right of way on the western outskirts of town just a few blocks ahead. With the street protecting them from the wind the bright setting sun still has some warmth for the old bones of the Father. Both Kellen and the sun had warming effect on Kirk. One from the inside out and the other from the outside in.
Kellen’s thoughts go back to when he was five. His Father had been home for five months since his seasonal layoff from construction work in Alaska. Kellen really enjoyed the walks to school with his Father each day. Then his Father would return at noon to walk him home again. It was nice to have his father home. He had overheard his parents discussing his fathers return to seasonal employment in to Alaska. This was not a subject that he liked to hear. That means he will be gone again for six months. He tries to understand the reasons but it is somehow lost to the youth in understanding as to why his father could not do his road building in the state of Texas instead of Alaska?
On many days they would play video games together on computers. The young son did more teaching then the young father. It mattered not to them. The elder was lost in the feeling wave with out knowing that his young son was preparing for the same gift that Kirk was enjoying. God has his plan and is using the feeling wave to do his bidding.
Kellen steadies his father as they walk towards the post office. This is not the first time that something like this has occured. He goes back to his first boy scout weekend camp out. Seven years old is the age for a Tiger entering the Cub Scouts. The whole winter spent attending the weekly den meeting making ready with badges, ribbons, and awards all giving testament that the young man had fulfilled the requirements to cross over to the next level called Webelos.
It was about six months after ending Kirk’s treatments for tongue cancer when this campout weekend was to occur. Kirk had lost about 180 pounds and had yet to swallow anything other than water and medication. A food peg had been placed in the abdomen of Kirk. He was subsisting on liquid protein. It made him quite sick each time it was administered so Kirk was reticent to use the product. Consequently his progress was slowed dramatically because of this. Despite the weakening effects Kirk mustered up enough strength to load the pickup with camp goods for the over night trip.
The camp ground itself is quite an affair.It is called Tehuaya. It is east of the city limits of Belton, Texas. It covers over eighty acres of Texas hill country land donated to the Boy Scouts of Texas by a rich oil man years ago. There are meandering streams running through the property. The tree laden land has a complex set of trails used to explore the caves, cabins, and other out buildings from a earlier time in Texas history. It is quite the experience for an adult. It is a veritable treasure to the mind of a seven year old.
Kellen remembers driving up to the camp ground in the old black chevy truck. His father was so proud of the old black truck. Together they would spends hours cleaning and washing the truck. Kellen did the wheels.He liked shiny wheels. Kellen knew for sure that the truck was shiny that day as they drove into the parking lot of Camp Tehuaya. He and his father had seen to it that very morning prior to arrival.
Aware that his strength would be limited Kirk instructed Kellen to find the scout leader, Ms. Mary, to ascertain the area designated for his cub scout pack. Kellen was up to the task and soon returned with useful information and a half a dozen little cub scouts. With an excited voice he exclaimed, “I found them Daddy. I found them. Ms. Mary is right behind me. Can I go and play with my friends! PLEASE!”
“Hold on, Buddy.’ he said . ‘We need a little more information before you go off and play. I will talk with Ms. Mary and get an itinerary for the day before we get separated, alright?”
Ms.Mary approached just as Kellen gave an exasperated shrug of acceptance. ”Don’t worry, Kellen’, she said. ‘I heard what your Father said. I have the situation well in hand. I have the schedule of the days events right here in my hand. We can get you and your Father situated very quickly if you remain patient while we discuss what you and your Father need to do.” Kellen and the rest of the Cub scout pack members, not wanting to slow the process, went immediately to statue status replete with zipper motions for mouth closed, motions to signify eyes wide open, and motions to signifying ears on. He and the rest of the boys had listened while at pack meeting. Their actions showed that they knew what do do and how to show it when Ms. Mary spoke.
“Thank you for coming out to meet me, Ms. Mary. It sounds like you have everything well in hand.” he said as they shook hands.
Ms.Mary was the den leader of the Pack. She was married to an officer in the army who was deployed in Iraq . Probably in her middle thirties. Standing beside her was her son, Nick, was a member of the Boy Scouts. He was fulfilling a requirement of the Boy Scouts by acting as a mentor to the cub scout boys. He was five foot two and a little shorter than his mother but they share similar features. Both had deep brown eyes with light brown hair. Both were athletically thin. The boy’s hair was cropped as if in the military with his mother sporting a bouncey pony tail for the day. Both looked very official in their scout uniforms.
Kellen and the other cub scout still standing at attention were beginning to become anxious. Ms.Mary took charge of the boy’s and said, “Ok fellas, we need to pair up. From now on we do not go any where with out a parent or a buddy.”
The cub scouts that were standing at attention soon looked at each trying to decide who to pair up with. By the end of the pairing it was obvious that their would be an odd man out. Once Kellen realized that there was going to be an odd man in this group he turned on his heel, did an about face , and He ran towards his father with his angelic smile on his face and genuine youthful exuberance in his step and said. ” I am going to partner with you today, Dad!”
Not much needed to be said after that to Kirk. Kellen spent the entire weekend with his father. Listening to the stories that he now knows with out knowing because of his feeling wave gift . Kellen is flitting from feeling wave to reality. For him to remember is not a feeling wave. A feeling wave cannot be remembered but a remembered memory can be in a feeling wave. Because of his Father, Kellen can feel his first reality experience because his Father was there to experience it all at the same time. Because Kellen experienced the Boy Scout campout with his father simultaneously he cannot understand the feeling of knowing with out knowing why? The gift of the Hage Clan gives knowledge to the feeling wave. It does not have to explain a gift from God. Merely accepting it is a requirement. So going from reality to memory for Kellen because of his gift may soon become a problem? Where is he now? Who is he sharing his feeling wave with?wave? Is this a reality memory or a feeling wave? Can he feel a memory through a feeling wave?
Kellen is back to the present. Kirk and Kellen are now standing on Main St. facing the Post Office. Kellen can see the stroll through the streets has taken it toll on his father. Lifting his fathers left hand with his and continueing to keep his right arm locked into his father’s left elbow he managed to bolster his father’s tired and weak step enough to get them across the street to the bench from which their stroll had started.
Tired but not unaware, Kirk has been feeling the wave that Kellen experienced as they walked the city block between the gym and the brown house that Sox Simmonsma owned. Kirk was aware of the steady hand the young boy was providing. To tired to speak he let the wave speak for him. He was there to show Kellen the way on the day of his first Boy Scout camp. So Kellen is feeling things through Kirk’s pride. This pride changes the way people view events. Kellen does not understand this at his young age. The gift of the feeling wave will not teach him. So when Kellen has a feeling wave with prideful feelings that are not of his choosing it is disconcerting if not uncomfortable if one does not accept it. Acceptance without question is the only way that the feeling wave gift from God can be fully appreciated.
Kirk is using the wave to gather his strength. Together at the bench both sit in time that has stopped as Kellen leaves reality and returns to the feeling wave of the boy Scout weekend.
Nov 07 2011
