By Ralphine Major

ralphine3@yahoo.com

It is a scene right out of rural America—little Abbey and her grandfather riding on a John Deere tractor on a gorgeous summer evening with those “spacious skies” and mountains in the background and the American flag blowing in the breeze!  How much more American can it be?

Abbey is her grandfather’s little sidekick.  “If anyone is lucky enough to get a picture of Grady, it is likely she will be with him,” Polly Lett, Grady’s wife, told me.  Luck was on my side that evening when we pulled into the driveway.  Grady and Abbey were riding around the farm on one of his showroom Deeres.  This is his oldest John Deere tractor, a 1935 AR (“A” designates size; “R” represents row crop).  After a few rounds, Grady headed to the barn.  Just as the flag disappeared from sight, Abbey came barreling out the other door on her miniature ATV John Deere.  There is a size for everyone when it comes to those Deeres!    There are signs that summer is slowly turning to fall:  school has started, leaves are turning, and there is one more upcoming summer holiday for families and friends to gather for picnics and cookouts.  As America’s national holiday, Labor Day, approaches, my mind glances ahead to fall festivals, football, and more holidays with family fun and activities.  But for now, I will enjoy this fleeting moment of a summer scene in our fast-paced world.  What can be more American than that?