My Dear Jasper

Last fall, I talked my fellow author Jasper Reese into reading from his works at the Mitford Museum's poetry night. I knew he was also a poet because we chose several of his poems to include in the book The Way It Was in the Backwoods that we wrote together. 

I knew the audience would appreciate what he had to offer. And they did. 

He read a bawdy poem, "The Old French Broad," about what you might think at first, an old "broad" but with a double entendre, comparing it to the fairly wide French Broad River in western North Carolina. It was fun hearing a ninety-five-year-old man drawing chuckles from the much younger, poet-filled audience. They appreciated him as much as he appreciated them. 

He was so excited about the whole experience that he already knew what he would read for the next poet reading session. Except he didn't have a chance. He passed away last week. If he told me the title, I don't remember, but I'm determined to make a good guess and read it in his honor at the next Mitford Poetry night. 

Another thing he was determined to do was learn to play the fiddle. I'm talking when he was ninety plus years old! He was proficient in guitar and maybe a bit of banjo, but the fiddle was a challenge to him. He screeched through the basics until, at one of my visits, he conned me into playing a duet with him - he on the fiddle and me on the piano. I went home that day, dusted off the ivories, and started practicing until I finally felt comfortable enough to play the song he had selected, "How Beautiful Heaven Must Be." I'm listening to it (and tearing up at the oh so appropriate words) now as I type. It's the version by the Gaither Vocal Band. Click on it and listen to the words as you imagine Jasper finding out how beautiful and wonderful heaven really is. I got a taste of it when I sat at the piano in his living room last summer and fulfilled my promise to him to play this long-overdue duet. We both made all kinds of errors. He sounded a bit like Jack Benny giving the screeching version of music on his violin. Perhaps the two of them are playing music together in heaven! But that day, we certainly weren't up to heaven's standard playing this duet. In my heart, however, (and I think in his), we were making heavenly music as we sang at the top of our voices to drown out all our mistakes. What fun! What a man! I'm so glad he was in my life.

When I am ninety-five, I pray I will be as vibrant and excited about life as Jasper. That's my takeaway, and I hope yours as well. 

Be like Jasper.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen