The reason I take pictures of the big old Barns ....they remind me of my Dad. They say a man builds a home...well, not my Dad, my Dad built a big big Barn. If you have ever seen the inside of one of those barns you will see very large wood beams, that held and up and supported the large structure...those were my Dad's hands. In his Barn he had the most beautiful Draft horses I have ever seen...larger than life...cows...turkeys...chickens....and and rooster that just would not die. I remember watching my Dad with those Draft horses...he looked so small compared to them, however he knew exactly how to handle them, and when they would pull...my Dad would let them be. He just would hold the reins and let them go...the horses always knowing he really was in control. My Dad in his younger years grew up on a farm...raising their own way of living....it's what he knew. After he joined the US Navy...the stories he would tell...it was the first time in my life I had ever seen my father cry. A man so strong and bold...so weak and vulnerable for what he told. My Dad was one of the Top Class A seven welder's of the United States...it's funny, he never knew that...my brother who was attending school...happened to have a class one day, they were showing a slide film of all of these welder's, as he set idle...the narrator mentioned my Dad's name...and my brother in surprise, spoke up and said, "That's my Dad." The teacher stopped the film, and said to my brother, you should be proud...and stated my Dad's title. They say a Dad is the one who builds a home and that he did, but his heart was in the barn...it's who he was. In his barn he raised some kids...John Jr., Crystal, Albion, Naomi, Charlie, Angelon, and myself...and with those big hands ...those beams if you will...he lived a life of a simple wealth . In our home, I remember him coming home from work on a Friday night with a brown bag of penny candy...waxed lips, waxed bottles filled with a colorful liquid and sweet...hot balls, bubble gum, and it was always special, because he thought of us. After a long day and ready to eat i remember him coming into the kitchen and grabbing my Mother's waist and he would begin to sing...and swing her around and begin to dance. My own special memory of him, when i got married...the Father/Daughter dance...if you knew my Dad...you would know he was one of the most beautiful dancers I ever knew...watching him and my Mom...go round and round and he'd just make her look like she was floating on air...I was so nervous to dance with him...he took my hands and i said to him...Daddy I can't dance like that...he said just hold my hands....I'll do the rest...as we began to twirl and whirl i could feel my dress ...I remember looking at his face...he just let me be...as his hands held my hands as if they were the reins...he let me go...even though he was in control on that dance that day. Throughout the years i watched him age...his hands looked smaller and smaller, the man i once had to look up to...now needed support from the people for whom he built his barn for...his children. He raised some pretty strong smaller beams of structure...and the stories he left for us to continue to tell...and we will, because of him...we have built our own little homes, and our own little barns...and we will continue on knowing that those hands are still holding us up ...for all of the grandchildren...and great grandchildren to hear. He was a brother to 12 other siblings...and an uncle to I lost count...but a family when gathered totaled close to 200 a wonderful crew who salute the old...and welcome the new. It's not easy to say good by to a staple in one's life...as i went to his side, the man I once had to look up to...now i looked down upon him...his hands as a child were so big...i'd grab his finger just to hold on...I looked at his face..memories came flooding in...as big old crocodile tears began to flow..feeling my age of 5 once again...his eyes closed making you think he was unaware...as i grabbed his finger one more time, I bent down and said my name...i watched his brow rise, and i smiled i knew he could hear...I whispered in his ear...Let it go...the barn will still stand, as I let go of his finger, and took that last look, with love i kissed his forehead, and turned as if it were that one last twirl, wiped my tears, and simply walked out the door.