Trace Elements

Jackspur Halferson had this old plum tree that was not producing fruit down behind his wash house. His grandboys came over and wanted to nail some nails into the side of his barn. He had an idea that since the old tree wasn't doing any good for them, he might as well have the boys use the trunk as their nailing pad. They literally filled that tree with nails, all sizes. The next year there was a big crop of plums. The county agent said he figured it was the trace elements in the nails that did the work. It got me thinking about Maudie Spurl, a woman who recently became the number one real estate agent in Harper County. She was a shy girl growing up and most figured she would not amount to much in life. But somehow she got herself turned around and became the strong person she is today. I asked her if she could tell just what caused such a transformation in her life. She replied that there were probably a lot of things but one thing she was sure of: Dorothy's smile. Maudie said every morning when she came into the cafe with her daddy while he drank coffee, Dorothy was very attentive to her. She said Dorothy's twinkling eyes and smiling lips made her feel like she was worth something. I figure a smile is such a simple thing to give. It don't cost you anything and may be worth a lot to the recipient. Anyway I am not sure nailing nails in a plum tree and smiling at a little girl have a lot to do with each other but that's just the way my poor brain works.

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle