April 3, 2011

October in Eastern Indiana-Author Ruth Hartman

Last October, friends invited my husband and I for a Sunday drive in their convertible. It was a gorgeous day. Sunny and warm, but still cool enough to wear jeans and long-sleeved shirts. Our friends picked us up. We live out in the country but instead of heading towards town, they took us farther north, two counties away. I wasn’t sure where we were headed exactly, but I didn’t care.
I was too busy enjoying the autumn sun on my face. The crisp light breeze across my shoulders. And who knew all the sounds of nature you could hear while driving through country roads while the top was down? Cows mooing, birds chattering, and donkeys braying.
After eating in an out-of-the-way restaurant, we headed down a dusty, quiet back road. Our friends had been there before and told us there was something they wanted us to see. What, I thought, a cow, some pigs? I’d seen those before. But they were driving, so what could I say?
When we got to our destination and they stopped the car, my husband and I sat there with our mouths hanging open. Speechless. Before us sat acres and acres of sunflowers. Their cheerful yellow petals surrounded soft brown faces. And they were all looking at us. I started to giggle. It seemed as if the flowers were nosy and wanted to see what we were staring at. Our friends explained that the flowers turned toward the sun, and followed its path across the sky. We just happened to be standing with the sun behind us.
I don’t know how long we stood there, watching the flowers watch us, but I’ll never forget it. We all got some pictures, and have special memories of that day. Not long after that, our friends moved away, so that afternoon is more precious than ever.
Ruth Hartman hales from the beautiful state of Indiana. She’s a published author and licensed dental hygienist and author. Always writing for fun, her career as an author began in 2008 with memoirs, romance novels and short stories. ‘Write what you know’ finds her books and stories gravitating toward dentistry and cats.

Visit http://www.ruthjhartman.blogspot.com/ for information on all her work

11 comments:

  1. What a fun story and a lovely memory! thanks for sharing that!

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  2. This just goes to show there's always something new and wonderful to enjoy every day. Thanks for reminding us.

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  3. Thanks JR. You're right! It's there if we really look :)

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  4. What a lovely picture you painted with your words, Ruth. I would have loved to seen those sunflowers. Did you take any pictures? Great way to spend an autumn afternoon.

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  5. Thanks, Kathleen :). If you click on the small picture in the post, you can enlarge it to see one of the pictures we took that day. They really were beautiful!

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  6. I'd like to read a romance with a dentist as a hero. That sound unique.

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  7. I have very fond memories of Indiana hospitality. My car overheated in Indiana, while driving my 3 kids and a dog cross country from CA to NJ in 1979. There we were on the side of the road in a light rain, stranded in nowhere land. A man stopped and said he was an auto mechanic (angels must have been hovering over Indiana) he told me I had a hole in my radiator hose and to drive 40 miles an hour for 6 miles to the next exit, where I would find an auto repair shop. As a cynic from the Northeast, I envisioned a rip-off and saw $$$$ flying away. Well, for $6 they replaced the hose, filled up the radiator and sent me on my way. I will never forget Indiana.

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  8. I lived in Indiana and you post brought back some memories. I loved the state when I was there.
    debby236 at gmail dot com

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  9. Glad it brought back nice memories, Debby :)

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