Orlando

Orlando

By David C. Price

When my grandfather was only ten

He accidentally shot and killed his sister

And wounded his older brother.

At 14 his sawmill boss called him a “damn fool”

When my grandfather was a thirteen

Sheriff Daly said Ada County Idaho

Should create a reform school for troubled boys –

And Orlando should be the first incarcerated.

When my grandfather was twenty-eight

He was hospitalized for a mental breakdown

After embezzling from the community.

His house was sold to restore the funds.

When my grandfather was thirty

His eleven year old daughter was killed by a train.

His wife was severely injured and in shock.

He ended up divorced and alone.

When my grandfather was nearly forty

He married his brother’s widow

To raise his brother’s children.

And had two children of his own.

When my grandfather died

The YMCA Camp and Tri-Hi-Y Girls

Built a memorial cabin to honor him

For the exemplary man he had become.

When we think our children are incorrigible,

When we suffer death and divorce,

When we sacrifice our life for others,

We still don’t quit – we never quit trying.

That’s what my grandfather teaches me.