On the Garden Path at 5~Acre Farm: To Honor Those Who Are Worthy of Honor

Monday, May 25, 2009

To Honor Those Who Are Worthy of Honor

Today is Memorial Day. I'm not about to use this space for a diatribe on the political views of war and soldiering - mine or anyone else's. This isn't a day for discourse. This is a day of recognition. Today, all of us should be honoring the men and women who have served our country in the Armed Forces. Whatever our opinions or experiences with war, we should be able to give freely this one day our gratitude to all those individuals who madethe choice to fight for freedom. Whatever else we think it may be about, war, for America, is always about freedom.

Today, along with all Americans who have fought for freedom and justice around the world, I honor:

My Father: Gentry Wright

Dad joined the Army at the end of WWII, and served overseas in the occupation of Germany. He brought home a British bride. Later, he served in Korea, and did two tours in Viet Nam, serving in Military Intelligence under General William Westmoreland. Dad finally told me a couple of years ago what it is he did in Viet Nam. Once he did, I realized it was so secret, I could never tell anyone. After 21 years of service, Dad took a medical discharge in 1970, and retired to North Carolina to farm and fish. Dad has always shared many funny stories about his military experience, but stays quiet about the darker days of war. This week, at the age of 82, he finished building a greenhouse that he designed himself.

My Brother: Keith Wright

Eligible for the draft in 1968, my brother joined the Army right out of high school. Not willing to carry a gun, Keith served honorably in the medical corp, rescuing friends and fellow soldiers from the battlefield while under fire. Keith served in Viet Nam at the same time my father was there on his second tour. He did his time and came home. He never talked much about his experiences, but I know they remain with him, as they do with our father.

My Husband: John H. Alderman III

John served 10 years in the Navy, during the Cold War era. His training was extensive, as he served on nuclear submarines in missions still considered highly classified. When one of the submarines he was serving aboard hit an underwater mountain, John was credited with saving the lives of his shipmates by getting the boat operational and to the surface with the aid of the only 4 other men aboard who were free enough of injury to help. John's ingenuity and ability saved the Navy billions of dollars and his actions saved not only his shipmates, but the lives of millions of Americans. John wanted to make a career of the Navy, but left to care for his marriage and his family.

My Father-In-Law: John H. Alderman, Jr.

I never had the opportunity to meet my father-in-law. I love and respect him just the same. He served six years in the Pacific in World War II as Adjunct to Gen West in the Southern Occupational Forces in Japan under General Douglas MacArthur. As a private aboard the transport ship heading overseas, he served as head cook, commanding officers under his charge. He crawled through foxholes, fought in the Battle of Manilla, survived being run over by a tank, and five potentially fatal diseases. He saw, in hand-to-hand combat things you and I would never want to know about. While serving in the Philippines my father-in-law died and was pronounced dead. Five doctors signed his death certificate. A few short hours before his scheduled burial, he woke, removed himself from his body bag, and walked out of the morgue tent. He returned home, married, raised a son (my husband), and a daughter, and established the homestead John and I now call 5 Acre Farm.

My Son-In-Law: John H. Alderman IV

John takes his citizenship quite seriously, and believes all Americans should do the same. He is serving a distinguished career in the National Guard, currently at the rank of Major. He served honorably in Iraq with his men, whose lives he holds as dearly as his own, and is currently serving as an International Public Affairs Officer for the National Guard and Liaison between the military and locals.

My Friend: Name Withheld

I cannot give my friend's name. His work in the military has always been of a sensitive and highly classified nature. He served a distinguished career and retired last year. He now holds down the homefront so his wife can pursue her dreams and career goals.

Thank You All

My simple heartfelt thanks belong to these men, and to the millions of men and women like them, who have protected my rights and my life, and those of my family and my countrymen each day of their service. May God bless and keep you all this Memorial Day, and every day for the rest of your lives.

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John and Michelle, and 5 Acre Farm

How We Came To Be

John was born and raised in Georgia by parents who lived incredible lives of their own, and passed on to John a rich family history from both sides. He was a die hard Boy Scout, and later, spent 17 years as a Troop Leader. He earned a dual Agriculture/Agricultural Engineering degree at ABAC in Tipton, where he also started the college's radio station. After college, John served on nuclear submarines in the Navy, where he once saved the lives of his shipmates, and, rumor has it, did many incredible things in the service of our country. He married and had a family, and after the Navy, worked briefly with the EPA before opening his own HVAC-Refrigeration company. John was inventive as a child, and that carried over into everything in his life. He is a fixer of severe mechanical problems, and an inventor of all kinds of things that improve on or simplify existing machinery, equipment, and ideas. His inventions are unique, and some of them may some day aide humanity, save lives, and save our planet if we can get the right people to listen.

My dad was career Army. I was born in France, and introduced, at a very young age, to the Virginia countryside, where we raised rabbits and chickens. After dad retired, we moved to North Carolina, his home state, where we spent many years on the coast, near Wilmington. Here, we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, and fished commercially. Our freezer was always full of fresh Spot and shrimp, and oyster roasts were a weekly event! As a young adult I lived with my family in the mountains south of Asheville. Here too we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, as well as geese and peacocks. I worked for many years with an arts council, Christian organizations, and other non-profits. I helped train missionaries, researched/wrote grants, produced professional documents, edited newsletters, and wrote a lot of publicity materials. I already had two Associate degrees, but in my late 30s I finally completed an undergraduate degree in English/Art History. For 20 years I was active in community theater, sang solos with a community choir, and danced with a show choir. Treasured memories! I moved to Georgia in late 1998, and married my first husband in 2002. I was 45. Eighteen months later, I was widowed.

John and I first met in 2000. After I was widowed, and John was divorced, we found each other again. Of like minds, spirits, and goals, our hearts came together quickly, and we married in 2005. Each of us has undergone Elijah House training, and we were both ordained into ministry in 2006. I have been a Christian counselor and prayer warrior for probably 30 years. John and I live to put God first in our lives, and in our dreams for this small piece of earth of which we are the caretakers.

We call our place "5 Acre Farm." John's father took this barren, overworked field from a larger parcel of farmland in the mid-70s. He fenced off about three-quarters of an acre for the house, and added plants, flowers, and trees. Elsewhere, he transformed the property through years of hard work, adding an apple orchard, peach trees, pears, two fig orchards, grape vines, and a greenhouse. John and I have been trying to continue his father's work on this land, adding to it with our own hopes and dreams, and our late-in-life efforts. Not a day goes by that I don't feel great respect for John's father, for the man he was, for the work he did here, and gratitude for the bounty we reap because of his hard work.

John and I are in our 50s, just starting life together, but with age and health trying to work against us. We aren't ready to sit down and take it easy. We have a goal to become self-sufficient by growing our own food (meat and vegetables), and getting off the grid. The challenges we face in doing this are age, health, and finances. John's inventiveness is being strongly applied, as is my gift for budget stretching and frugality. Our strength? The love we have for each other, and the trust that we are working inside the will of God.

One of the things we ask ourselves now and then is this: "Is it worth it?" I never had children. John's son has set his own path with family and career. There does not seem to be anyone we can leave this property to who will continue the work and the dream; one of John's grandchildren, perhaps, but they are very young right now, and do not yet notice or care.

So, is it worth it (all the work and expense) if there is every chance this land will end up in the hands of developers after we're gone? Well, our answer to that question so far is always "Yes, it's worth it." It's worth it to us, because of what we are accomplishing here in our lifetime. It's worth it because what we grow here we share with family, with friends, and with our community. And not just what we grow, but our faith and philosophy, our hopes and dreams, and our very desire to leave at least our little part of the world better than it was when we found it. We are living - consciously, and deliberately - a lifestyle that expresses who we are and what we believe. Does anybody care? Why don't read our blog, leave a comment, and let us know.