The Hill at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute, Indiana.
It isn’t about gardens today but about grass on a hill. On the opposite side of the stands at Indiana State University’s Memorial Stadium is a grassy berm. On football Saturdays you will find my nephew, Jeff, sitting in his chair intently watching. Besides being a teacher he has been a football coach for many years while working with youth leagues through high school ages. The fact that he has two sons who love the sport has just made teaching and coaching more fun, particularly on Saturday afternoons.
It is the “hill” that fascinates me. As my brother, Jeff’s dad, progressed through the stages of pancreatic cancer, no matter how soft the chair he brought to make the stadium seats more comfortable, he couldn’t control the sun. It did not shine on those seats for very long on the Fall afternoons and he got cold no matter how insulated he was.
One weekend when Butch and I came up to Terre Haute to watch an ISU game that Jeff’s son, Brock, was playing in, my brother said I would find him on the hill across from the stands. We were in the stands so I could see how the sun shined on Phil for much longer into the afternoon. The next time we came up from Atlanta we hauled our chairs up to the hill to sit next to him. He was my big brother and I wanted as much sun on that hill to shine on both of us.
Last weekend we sat on the hill with Jeff watching his youngest son, Tsali play. The sun felt very warm and comforting. We know the spirit of my brother, Jeff’s dad, Tsali & Brock’s grandpa, is always there on the hill. It was a warm Saturday afternoon.
Ditdo (aka Marianne Lough Volpert)
FreelanceBeth 