Together again

Dear Editor,

The pain was finally gone as he rode the big bay horse up the narrow, winding trail. For some reason, this muscular man in black couldn't remember much from the previous week. Probably a bad rap on the head from getting bucked off some wild mustang, he thought.

It was a clear, warm day and he couldn't recall a brighter sun. Almost blinding. As the bay rounded a bend, the rider recognized the familiar corral.

"Someone's comin' down the trail, Pa," said a huge man in a high hat. As they squinted to see who the stranger was, the large man bellowed, "Dang it, if it ain't Adam, Pa, and as handsome as ever!"

The rider could now recognize the people standing near the gate, waving excitingly at him. There was his beautiful Swedish mother, who died when he was a small boy, and for whom he constantly yearned. Next to her was Hop Sing in his white apron. Nearby was Pa, Little Joe and Hoss.

As he rode and jumped down from his horse, they joyously hugged each other with tears streaming down their faces.

"Where've you been, big brother?" said the boyish-looking young man with the long hair. "We've been waiting for you."

"Welcome home, son."

They were together again, and the Ponderosa never seemed more magnificent.

Sincerely,

Thomas Kope,

Baldwin Park, Calif.