AMANDA'S ALTERNATIVE PRETEND LIFE - A SHORT STORY
Amanda Elizabeth Barrow was born in May 1868 in Paoli, Indiana. The only child
of herb, vegetable, and peony farmers, Amanda grew up running around in the sun, barefoot, with her
best friends Josie and She-who-has-bright-eyes-born-on-a-full-moon.
As a child, Amanda Elizabeth enjoyed drawing daisies and other flowers in the
sand near the creek close to her home in the woods. She and her mother grew
herbs and vegetables that they sold at the town market every Saturday (except
during the winter, and that was once a month, between winter solstice and spring
equinox). She grew up loving nature, and when it came time to ‘settle down’, she
moved in with her best boy friend Carlos, who was a bamboo farmer and musical
instrument maker. They raised one daughter who they named Amanda, who also had a
daughter she named Amanda, who also had a daughter that she named Amanda, and so
on.
After Carlos passed away in 1958, Amanda Elizabeth and her best friend from
childhood, She-who-has-bright-eyes-born-on-a-full-moon, together took care of
the farm in Indiana that had been in the family for so many years. However,
Amanda Elizabeth died almost a year later in November 1959 while she was in her
beloved garden, putting the plants to bed for the coming winter.
She-who-has-bright-eyes-born-on-a-full-moon was very sad to see her go, but
celebrated the living of Amanda Elizabeth’s life with a big party with friends
and family, and lots and lots of food, daisies, daylilies, and peonies filling the dinner
table.
(this story is dedicated to my friend Rick Herter, who died in 2006)