Just Remember - Chapter 1

Jesse's earliest memories were of the two wizards who visited him once a year. It frightened him when the evil wizard, Shiz came. He was tall and mean, and he always came during the middle of the night, when it was dark and cold.

“You're a little wretch,” the wizard told the small boy, and he sneered when Jesse stared at him with fright. “Look at you, you skinny little crybaby! I can't believe anyone wants you to live with them. Why haven't they sent you off to live with the robbers, yet? That's where you belong!”

On the other hand, Jesse loved Emer's visits. He always came early in the morning, and he'd spend the whole day holding the child, loving and hugging him and calling him “Your majesty,” and “Sire.”

“You don't really belong here in this village,” Emer told Jesse. “You are really the son of the king, you are a prince, and some day, if you live well and stay as good as you are now, you will go home and live with your father in his castle.”

That made Jesse happy. It would be nice to live in a palace with plenty of food, warm clothes, and a father who loved him. The little hut he lived in was not a very nice place, and the old woman who took care of him was not very loveable.

When the wizards took Jesse away from the castle, they dropped him off on the edge of a poor, tiny village. An old woman found him, and took him to her hut, but not because she felt sorry for the little boy. She just thought it would be good to have someone to take care of her. She was a crabby, unloving old thing, and the little boy was often sad and lonely, as well as cold and hungry.

“Steal food out of the cupboard when the old woman is asleep,” Shiz told Jesse when he came to visit. “She is almost blind, and deaf. She won't catch you!”

But Emer said, “You are a prince. I know you are hungry, but a king wouldn't steal food. Instead, help the old woman work in the garden so she can grow more food. That's what your father would do. Always remember, love is the most powerful thing in the world. If you treat the old woman with love, you will feel safe and warm in here,” and he tapped the little boy on the chest, over his heart. “You really will.”

The End of a Wonderful Vacation

The last major part of our 1970 summer vacation was visiting Yellow Stone Park
, and I hate to admit it, but it was a let down.  Maybe I'd been overloaded with adventure by that time; after all, swimming on a California beach, Disneyland, San Francisco, Oregon's natural beauty and boating on Lake Hebgen were all pretty exciting adventures, while just riding around in the camper and looking out at scenery can be pretty boating.  I do remember walking along a cat walk above some mud pots; but that was kind of scary; and sitting in a big circle around Old Faithful; but the hour wait diminished the excitement of the performance.  Mostly, I think I was just being a grumpy teenager, tired from a week of traveling cramped in a tiny camper with seven other people.  You know what my best memory of Yellow Stone Park is?  Keith, my older brother, laying on the bed over the cab, trying to sink James Taylor's new song, You've Got a Friend.  Keith had heard it on the radio, and he liked it.  After hearing him sing it for hours and hours as we drove through majestic mountains and forests, I decided I liked it, too.   Even all these years later, I still grin when I hear that song, and feel like a fourteen year old all over again.

You've Got a Friend

James Taylor

When you're down and troubled
And you need some loving care
And nothing, nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there
You've got a friend

If the sky above you
Grows dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind begins to blow
Keep you head together
And call my name out loud
Soon you'll hear me knocking at you door

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there

Ain't it good to know that you've got a friend
When people can be so cold
They'll hurt you, and desert you
And take your soul if you let them

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there
You've got a friend
You've got a friend

Ain't it good to know you've got a friend
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend

We ended our summer vacation staying at Clear Creek, in Idaho.   Where we camped the stream ran cold and clear and shallow over a bed a small rocks and pebbles, a perfect place for my little sisters to wade and play and release some of their pent up energy.  Dad and the boys went fishing, but mom and I didn't have anything particular to do so we sat around and read and relaxed. Then, you know what we did?  Mom plucked my eye brows.  I know, that sounds like a really stupid way to spend an afternoon camped along a beautiful creek in Idaho, but oh well.  I suppose we had been talking about Aunt Eloise's beauty shop and makeup and stuff, because suddenly mom got this idea of showing me how to puck my eyebrows.  So mom found her old blue make up case, dug out her tweezers and mirror, and proceeded to carefully pluck my eyebrows.  Man, it stung!  I remember how my eyes watered so much I could hardly see, but I still let mom work.  I wanted to do whatever it took to be pretty, and I remembered Aunt Eloise's mantra, "It hurts to be beautiful!"

That evening we cooked over a camp fire instead of on the little stove in the camper, and roasted marshmallows over the coals.  I'll always remember the cozy feeling of sitting in lawn chairs around that fragrant campfire, singing songs, telling stories, savoring roasted marshmallows, and just relaxing.  That was a lovely evening.