Page 47 - Tattnall County

arry and Martha walked along the side of the road. Harry turned eighty this past January. On the last day of December of last year Martha turned seventy-seven. They’ve lived together so long that they both sort of think alike. “We will get up in the morning and one will say, ‘You know, we need to do something for this particular person,’ and the other will say, ‘You know, I was thinking that myself just a few minutes ago.’” But on some days they simply take their buckets out to the road to pick up trash that has randomly been tossed from passing cars or transported into their sanctuary by the wind. They tell me that caring for the land would make the earth a Garden of Eden again. I am struck by their sincere certainty. But before I leave, their capacity to love through loss will move me most of all.

It is not uncommon for people to pull their car to the side of the road to take a moment to enjoy Harry and Martha’s yard. Recently, they were coming back home from a leisurely outing on the mule and noticed a car in the drive. A grandmother timidly explained that her grandson had begged her to stop so he could get out and see the rabbits that gracefully adorned their lawn. The Martin’s assured her that the boy was welcome. After all, they are sort of partial to little boys.

When the grandmother mentioned that she regretted not having her camera, Martha quickly got hers and took pictures of the grandmother and her grandson in the yard. The boy played for a while with Harry and Martha’s grandson who was visiting for Easter. Martha told her grandson to take the boy into her fower shop and let him pick out something to take