It gives me great pride to know that what I write about, brings joy to the many readers of my column. I try to write from the heart, and I try to bring back the memories of the past and how the people in the old days, made it a whole lot easier for all of us here in the present. How we , who are here now, use the expeirence of our fore-fathers, will tell the story of our children's future. My columns have not only brought back some great memories, but also they have awakened the minds of the youngsters out there who are now asking thier parents and grandparents, if it really was that way as Uncle Ray says. In the last month, I have recieved e-mails and letters from old and young ,telling me to keep writing about what it was like for me and my brothers and sisters in the days gone by. Some have asked me if I ever thought of writing a book, and I must say that I do want to some day, before my time here on this earth expires, write a book about the life of my family and my friends .

In that book, if it is ever written and published, it will only be the truth, and it will be written straight from the heart, and it will show respect for the elders and will tell of all the hardships, that all the Moms and Dads went through ,so that thier children could reap the fortunes of this present time. I can only hope that this old man will have enough time to complete that desire.

Now to get off that subject, I was asked to explain what I do to keep joy in my heart, besides talking about the past. So I have decided to tell you about one of my favorite hobbies, which is making a garden each summer. Not only do I do it for fun, I do it for food also. This year I decided to sort of drift away from the usual way of starting my garden, which is just to rotate my plants in different spots each year and to go to raised beds. This is a new thing with me and so I started off very early in the year, preparing the soil, by tillering the ground as soon as the weather permitted, and building up the dirt each time by raking and shoveling it about twelve inches high. That left a lower space between the rows for the water to drain and also for extra moisture to accumalate . I spread fertilizer down each time that I tillered, and probaly after several weeks, the rows were about as high as I wanted them. I then went out and got several bales of straw and spread it on top of the mounds of soil, so that any hard rains would not wash the soil away. Also the straw would act as a moisture holder so that when it got real warm and no rain in sight, there was enough water for the plants to survive.

Soon it came time to plant, and I usually like to get my garden in by May 10th, so it was very easy to just take my hand down into the loose soil ,and place that small plant into the soil, so that soon I could witness the power of what our Lord gave us in the warmth of the sun and the shade of the clouds, as well as the rain coming from the Heavens, so that the little plant I place in His hands, would grow to supply me and my family with good food. And was I surprised this year, as we have been blessed with plenty of moisture, and to see those tomatoe plants go from six inches high to six feet high. The onions this year are doing great and the melons, cucumbers, and peppers, are doing great too.

To be able to still go out each year and grow plants in my garden, gives me great pleasure, because it not only gives me food for my stomach, it also gives me food for my mind. It is my spot in the summer to just go out there and have that little talk with God. There is something out there that tells me that he wants to talk ,and he wants to listen to what I have to say. There is a feeling that nothing can defeat me ,because I have that little spot to go and meditate all by myself. I look forward to going out there each day, and just look up into the sky and say thanks to the Great Father for all that he has done for me. This has been a great year so far for that little patch of land in back of my home, that I call "My Garden For God."

I hope that what I have brought to you in this column has made your day, because it sure has made mine. I hope that you continue to read and that you visit my web site at http://www.geocities.com/kokomoman/ to read all my other articles, so that you will be as happy as I am. May God Bless all of you.