One's Way Home
by
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Home?
As the glowing sun shown over the tall bright green trees to their left, Dottie could see the shape of a freshly painted red barn coming up around the curve in front of them. Her excitement grew as the sun seemed to reflect from the long red painted wood plank boards covering the walls, while the thin line of the white trim was so typical of the barns she had been raised with in rural
Gliding slowly up the dirt road so they could take in everything, Dottie tried to imagine that very little had changed since she was last here, but suddenly her senses were startled to alert. As they came around the last corner of the barn and her eyes could see the full view of the farm house area, she was jolted out of her safe daydreaming thoughts.
There in the yard was an old woman hanging damp freshly washed clothing on the long taut cord of a clothesline.
The woman was dressed in a printed loose fitting wash dress, like most every woman when they were busy around the house. She would reach down and pick each piece of clothing from the large wicker basket that sat at her feet judging the size of the clothing and the space she had to fill. She would shake each of them once or twice and attach them to the line with the clothes pins she pulled out of the brightly colored cloth basket she had hanging on the line near her.
Dorothy’s thoughts were blended with the reality of how the sun made the clothes look so bright and clean with her thoughts of who this woman could be. With bright white hair pulled back in a bun, and looking the right age, Dorothy knew that this must be her Grandmother. This women, she had learned, had made a decision so long ago that would change little Dorothy’s whole life, a decision that would actually sculpt that life into what it is and would be. As she stared, she thought that her grandmother’s day had started as early for her as Dorothy and her Aunt’s had. Making the trip out to this farm had not been part of the original plan when they were leaving
When Aunt Mabel had made the offer to bring her on one of these annual shopping trips to
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About the Book
Dottie's life adventure begins before Dottie is even born. Based on the actual life of my mother, her adoption and eventual return to visit her real family during the 1920's and 30's, it is a fictional story that includes information, places and some speculation as to what happened at the time of her birth and why her lifes adventure began so young.
1918 was not a time when a young girl had a child without being married, and when this situation happened in Dottie's grandmother's household, it brought about events that would shape Dottie's life forever. Touching the lives of many people along the way, Dottie would be sent halfway across the country as an Orphan Train Child from New York City to the farmlands of Iowa.
Follow along on this twisting train ride as Dottie travels and grows into the young women who completes a circle that answers many of the questions her adoption left with her.
About the Author
R. MICHAEL BUCK:
Remembering the story my mother wove about her adoption in
Born in 1949 in rural Upstate New York,
Following graduation from High School, I attended
This is the first publication in a series in which I will try to tell the story of growing up during a time in history when such rapid changes have occurred. I hope you enjoy getting to know Dottie and through her story, gain a better perspective on lifes challenges.