(part 4)
Carmon was
rarely to be found in church. The kids
and I went nearly every week, but it was a rare Sunday indeed that saw him in a
shirt and tie. When he did attend, it
was in support of one of us taking part in a special program or receiving a
special ordinance. The rest of the time,
while he supported our going, he himself was not a regular celebrant.
He welcomed
the home teachers, but as with everything, on his terms. Our understanding home teacher used to check on the
children and me, then go out back and stand around the burn barrel with Carmon
looking across the fields. Over the years, they became
close friends.
On the
surface, no one could ever mistake him for a religious man, but if loving your
fellow man counted for anything, Carmon could have taught many of us an object lesson
on the subject. I used to love one
particular country-western song by Hank Snow.
I had to hunt around to find the title using the only lyric I remember, which is about hard-working
hands. In the song, Hank asks that
when it is his time to go, he prays that God will judge him by his hard-working
hands. To this day, whenever I hear
it that song, I think of Carmon.
~ ~ ~
Carmon was a great fan of Johnny Cash. If you double click on the link below, you can hear Carmon's favorite version of the song, These Hands. Enjoy.
© Gebara Education, 2001. No portion of this book may be copied by any method without the express written permission of the author
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