Grandfather's Journal. C.W. Hanes
had too much to learn from Grandfather to move far away just yet.
Graduation day was almost here, and they wanted me to give the valedictorian speech for our senior class. I wasn’t sure what to write about but, with Mom’s and Grandfather’s help, I figured it out. Tonight is the night I give my speech – I hope I’m ready.
The auditorium was full; there must have been five hundred or more people there. When I got up on stage, I asked if I could have my mother and my grandparents could join me. I had Mom sit on my left because that is the side that is closest to my heart. I had my grandparents sit behind me to my right because they always stand behind me backing me up with my decisions. I asked Grandfather if he would stand with me tonight as I gave my speech. I had just a few minutes to talk to our class and the people that were there. When he stood up and walked over, everyone in the auditorium stood and applauded, I didn’t think they would ever stop.
I asked Grandfather if he would play his flute with me and continue when I started reading. We played together for about five minutes then I laid my flute down and started reading.
“Today is a new day for us; it is a time that we will be going our separate ways. Most of us have been in class together since the first grade, but after today that will all change. Some of us will go on to college and some will not. That doesn’t mean that some aren’t as smart as the ones that do, by no means. They, they just have a different path to travel down. The Class of 1974 must remember our friends and our family that sacrificed time and money to help us get to this day. My Grandfather taught me that today is all we really have; there is no promise of tomorrow. Today is a present from GOD. The reason we call it the present is because it is a gift from GOD. What each one of us must do is seize each and every day that GOD gives us to make the most of what He has given us to work with. Because Today is Tomorrow’s Yesterday at hand, and it is up to us to make the most of every day. Life is very short; it’s like unto the frost on a cold winter morning, it’s there early in the morning but when the sun climbs high up in the sky it vanishes without a trace. I ask that each one hearing my voice will live every day as if it were the only day that GOD gave you to live. Live it with compassion for others. Reach out to others that need a helping hand, pick them up off the ground and dust them off when you see them stumble and help them on their way. You may be the only person that sees them stumble. You never know what is going on in their lives you could be saving their life. To the Class of ‘74 and all that can hear me, I pray that GOD is with you and bless you in all that you set out to do and may you all accomplish peace, joy, and love in your lives. We made it, we graduate tonight our lives are just beginning, seize the day my friends; seize the day. Thank you all for listening so intently. Goodnight.”
I picked up my flute and then Grandfather and I stepped away from the podium. I hoped my speech was taken to heart by everyone, along with my Grandfather playing in the background.
They handed our diplomas to us and congratulated us on our accomplishments. The night was over; it was time to start planning for the summer and to pick the college I was going to attend.
It was my eighteenth birthday and I could hardly wait to be with Grandfather. What were we going to do today and what would be the new clue this year? Grandfather phoned me last night and told me not to come until noon today. He had a couple of things to do before he would be ready for me. When I entered the drive, it was twelve o’clock straight up. When Grandfather said noon that is exactly what he meant not a minute before or a minute after. He was standing in front of the barn when I drove up.
“Hello Grandpa, what’s the schedule for today?” He handed me a leather bag with beadwork and fringe on it and asked me to open it. I pulled out a pipe; the bowl was carved out of black rock to look like the head of a wolf. The stem had carvings of bear, deer, turkey, fox, and beaver. There were words carved in a spiral around the stem under each animal. It was the most beautiful pipe I had ever seen.
“Lets’ go for a walk, Jacob.”
“OKAY, Grandpa, where are we going?”
“Today we’re going to go to the top of the mountain, there is a ledge overlooking Red River with a circle of stone where I will teach you how to use this pipe.”
Grandfather led the way to the top. He had never shown me this route before. I thought I had been all over that mountain and thought I knew every foot of it, as many times as Grandfather had taken me out in the forest. This path was hidden; you could walk right by it and never know it was there. I don’t know how many times I walked past it and never found it. It was between two big overcup oak trees with honeysuckle growing between them next to a rock bluff. Looking between the trees, all you could see were three huge rocks but, once you stepped past the trees and rounded the boulders behind them, there was a path and steps that were carved into the mountain leading to the top. When we got to the top, the ledge was about fifty feet wide and about seventy-five feet long. It had an overhang twelve to thirteen feet above it. It was impossible to see from the river, but you could see for miles all around. It had a spectacular view of the mountains and the valleys. The way the Red River twisted and snaked through the valley was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. We sat down beside the circle of stones and Grandfather built a fire as we unpacked our gear. I watched him take his pipe and hold it up and give thanks to GOD for this day and for the many blessings He had bestowed upon our family. Then he began filling it with tobacco and held the bowl of the pipe over the fire and said, “Let us be one with all things that are good.” Then he took a twig from the fire, lit the pipe, took a couple of puffs from it, and handed it to me. “Jacob, close your eyes and take a deep breath through your nose, then let it out through your mouth and relax.
“Then take the pipe and take two short puffs, holding the smoke in your mouth for as long as possible, then blow it out of your mouth slowly. This is only done when you are becoming one with all things. This is not smoked for fun. Besides, you know I don’t believe in smoking. This is the only time you will ever see me smoke because it isn’t good for your health. Now, what did you feel when you did what I asked you to do?”
“I felt very peaceful and full filled; like a bird up against the sky with the wind blowing across my face. Grandpa, I felt freedom almost as if I were a part of everything in the universe.”
“That’s good, Jacob, you are becoming aware of the greater purpose of what life is about. Life is short; we rush around to get to places that we really don’t want to be. People take life for granted like they will live forever, always looking to make more money for things they don’t need. It’s okay to make money but it shouldn’t be the driving force that keeps you going. It should be for the greater good of our lives helping others when it’s possible. To do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. Jesus said greater LOVE has no man than to lay down his life for a friend. These are the things that are truly important. I hope you understood the things I just said to you, Jacob. If you can enjoy each day that GOD gives you then you will have a full life.”
“It’s time to go back to the house. Before we leave, though, here is the clue for your eighteenth birthday.
“The forty-eight warriors and the twenty-eight Angels watch the fire that burns in the middle of the room. Although fire burns through these rocks, they are cool to the touch and it protects my journal.”
As we started back down the mountain, I noticed that the forest seemed to be listening to Grandfather and me as we talked. The animals were appearing and disappearing from behind the trees and the rocks. We stopped about halfway down and sat for a little while. I watched and listened to Grandfather talking to the animals. I observed a bear bring over her cub as if to introduce her cub to Grandfather and me. He told me to look into her eyes and that I would know the bear and her cub. For a moment I could feel her heart beating and the warmth she felt for her cub. Grandfather said that if you will look into the eyes of any animal, you will know them and their family. After we rested for a while we walked on down to the mountain to the sweat lodge. “Grandpa, do we have time to sit inside the sweat lodge today for a couple of hours”?
“Sure, we do, there is always time for meditation.” We built a fire to heat up the rocks to take inside of the lodge. It took about an hour to get the lodge hot enough. It was the first time we had