Turkey, Dressing, Archery.......

For Thanksgiving 2004, the Rhodes clan spent a couple of days at the tree farm. After batting around several ideas for a camp house at the farm, Melvin acquired an older mobile home and had recently completed a major overhaul of its interior. He was very proud of how it had turned out, and he wanted to move the holiday activities out there so that the family could utilize it as a group for the first time. I also think that he knew that the only way to get me out there was to take the food there.

Melvin had recently bought a bow, and had a shooting area set up so that everyone could try out their skills. I had never touched a bow & arrow before, and Melvin had very little reason to think that I would perform very well in the arena, as I have never had any interest in athletics, hunting, guns, etc. But, I stepped up to take a turn, and after the proper instruction from Melvin, took aim and let the arrow fly. I wish that I had a photo of the look of absolute shock on Melvin's face when the arrow not only landed in the target circle, but was placed very well in the target. Assuming that I had just gotten lucky, he wanted me to do it again. This time, I got even closer to the bullseye. He announced that I obviously had a natural gift for archery. I shot many arrows that afternoon. The next morning, my entire forearm was black & blue from bruising due to the bow string hitting it.

While we were there for the weekend, we learned of the sudden death of acclaimed Mississippi writer, Larry Brown. He had suffered a sudden heart attack at his home near Oxford. I had been a fan from the beginning of his writing career, and have signed copies of all of his books, so I was very shocked by his passing. Now, it seems very strange that three years later Melvin would also die of a sudden heart attack not 200 yards from where I was standing when I learned of Larry's death.

Marcus