“No thank you,” I mumble, a little surprised at the sound of my own hoarse voice.
No thank you at all.
What have I learned? What have I learned? I have not made this long journey for no reason. May God never allow me to stop learning from the things I experience.
This world may be flat, but I don’t have to be. I can stand tall, stand out, be someone and do something. I believe I am young enough to learn how to take and make photographs, but not necessarily the kind you shoot with a camera. I want my life to be filled with pretty pictures that are both plain and true. I want to be wise.
And a white-hot fierce feeling swells within me. It is clear and strong, heaven sent. I know what I am supposed to learn during this long journey. I have figured it out. It is my truth.
I will beg no man again. I will chart my course and never vary. I will take the back roads whenever I can, wherever they lead me. I will travel to the tops of peaks and along the valley floors. I will stop to help those who have broken down along the side of the road, and I will seek nothing in return. I will be true to myself in every way.
I will be Loyal.
About the Author
Donald Smurthwaite is a native of Portland, Oregon. He and his wife, Shannon, are the parents of four children, whom he always will consider his best works. He has written eight novels, a couple dozen short stories, and lots of magazine stories, some of which were actually pretty good. He writes splendidly about golf, although he has grown ambivalent about the game in his middle-aged years. He runs ten miles a week and makes killer chocolate chip cookies, and yes, there is a connection between the two. He answers every fan letter or e-mail he receives. Lately, that hasn’t been much of a workload.
Other Books by Donald S. Smurthwaite
The Boxmaker’s Son
Surprising Marcus
Letters by a Half-Moon
A Wise, Blue Autumn
Fine Old High Priests
Do You Like Me, Julie Sloan?
The Search for Wallace Whipple
Road to Bountiful Page 20
