(Cartographer: Claudia Rodriquez by Donato Giancola)

The pictures in lieu of today’s Friday Favorites post do in fact come from an artist in my favorites file who is very talented, Donato Giancola. Their presence in post will hopefully make more sense as you read on.

For several summers in a row in my early adolescence I worked alongside my younger brother for the Timperly family on their farm. They primarily grew melons but sweetcorn, peppers, asparagus, and at the end of the season, pumpkins, were also yearly staples. Jason and I earned our summer money working for Rance, sometimes from sun up to sun down. I would be lying if I said that most days my first inclination wasn’t to feign sickness and go back to bed. However once out there it always felt good. Throughout the years several different friends and neighborhood kids would join us but Jason and I were the only ones who stuck it out year after year. They were good times.

My favorite part of the season was the early part when the plants were just starting to grow and we would hoe the fields. Then we could walk along as a group and tell jokes and stories, etc. I have so many fond memories of walking in the cool spring mornings, hoe in hand, laughing hysterically at something that most likely only a teenager would find funny. The satisfaction of a day’s work was palpable and something that even now I look back on in fondness. Seeing the end result of loading a truck with melons, knowing that was because of the work that we did, was immensely gratifying. The pay didn’t hurt either. I don’t remember how often we got paid but they paid cash and I remember often going home with huge stacks of $1 bills.

Rance Timperly was a character and it was an adventure working for him. He was the kind of guy who would tease you, yell at you, joke with you…a large, booming, loud man who could be frightening to the new kids but was a good man at heart. Given the fact that we were really stupid young kids he gave us a lot of responsibility. We drove trucks around the countryside eventhough none of us was old enough to drive. We were often left alone out in fields with definite goals to accomplish and we worked steadily and did a good job. Working on the melon farm was by far my favorite job out of all the jobs I did as a teenager up through college until I got a job at a bookstore and it is still one of the most satisfying I ever had. I could not be more thankful for the lessons learned and the time spent working there. That experience helped solidify a work ethic, taught me confidence, and provided me with memorable moments with my brother that I would not trade for the world.

I have not seen Rance Timperly in decades but I think about him every summer when the melons start getting ripe. That first bite of fresh cantalope or watermelon always brings with it a flood of memories. This week I received an email from my mother stating that Rance Timperly had committed suicide. He apparantley had severe diabetes which had profoundly affected his eyesight and was about to cost him the use of his legs. I cannot pretend to fathom what goes through a person’s mind that carries with it such hopelessness that this seems to be the best option but evidently Rance stated that he didn’t want to be a burden to anyone because of his health issues. Rance was only 53 years old and leaves behind a wife and children, who are grown, but all several years younger than me. Unfortunately they now have to carry the emotional burden of the premature loss of their father. He must have really been hurting to choose to end his life and I feel such grief for his loss, especially because of his wife and children. My lasting images of Rance Timperly will always be of a smiling, jolly man and I hope in time that this will be what his family remembers most. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

The Donato pictures starting and ending this post seem appropriate. To me they speak of charting ones’ course, of mapping one’s future, of looking to the stars. They represent treating life as an adventure to be savored, especially when one is healthy and has no excuse. They remind me to stop and be thankful, to smell the spring air and to gaze to the heavens above. They remind me to live my life and not be swept along by the peripheral stuff that can so easily fill up one’s day.

Though I may never have seen Rance Timperly again in my lifetime he played a pivotal role in my life and my development. I am very saddened by his loss and though I’m sorry to pass this sorrow on to you I feel that he deserved a remembrance for the memories I cherish of those summers on his farm. There was laughter and love and adventure there and I am a better person today for having spent time with Rance. God bless the Timperly family and grant them grace and peace each and every day.

(The Stars My Destination cover by Donato Giancola)

The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it. — Anonymous