Hearts of Grey

by Earl E. Gobel

  “Yes, dear, I guess that I am. But we can do away with the sir part, okay? Just call me Grady or Uncle Grady, okay? Can you do that?” he asked her.

  “Yes, sir—I mean, yes, Grady,” she said as she slowly walked over and reached for his hand. Grady raised his hand to meet hers as they shook hands.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Uncle Grady,” the little girl said with a smile.

  “The pleasure is all mine, but you know what I would really like right now?” he asked her.

  “Ice cream?” the little girl answered. Everyone chuckled a little.

  “Well, maybe later, but what I’d like right now from you is a hug.” He no sooner had the words out of his mouth and the arms of that little girl were wrapped around his neck. Grady hugged her back.

  There wasn’t a dry eye on that porch even Grady felt the tears rolling down his cheek. Just then, Mike and Melissa came up onto the porch. As Grady released the little girl from his hug, she turned to face them.

  Both Melissa and Mike stopped dead in their tracks, their eyes jumping back and forth between the two Katies.

  “Oh my! Twins?” Melissa proclaimed with a smile.

  “Michael, Melissa, I’d like to introduce you to my Aunt Elizabeth and my cousin, Katie,” she told them.

  “Wait a second, there’s two Katies?” Melissa asked.

  “No, there’s two Katie Windslows. Two for the price of one,” Katie replied.

  Michael introduced themselves to Elizabeth and the smaller version of Katie.

  “It’s an honor to meet you, miss. Grady told us some stories about you,” Michael explained to her.

  “Oh, he did, did he?” she asked. “I’m curious just which story did he tell ya.”

  “The one where you and Katherine used to start the fights,” Mike told her.

  “We never started any fights! Grady, have you been telling stories again?” she asked.

  “I told them about your walk that you used to do. Remember? I just never thought that he would tell you that I told you that. Thanks, Michael, well talk about this later,” Grady answered as he threw Mike a dirty look.

  “My walk? You remember that? God, I haven’t done that for years and nor have I ever thought about it. What in the world made you remember that?” she asked.

  “Elizabeth, there isn’t a man alive that ever saw you’re walk and doesn’t remember it. You drove a lot of men crazy with it, remember?” he asked her.

  “Yes, I do recall causing a fuss, but I was a lot younger then and a lot better looking, I might add, too,” she answered.

  “You haven’t changed that much, Elizabeth, maybe there’s a little gray in your hair, but I bet you could still turn a few heads,” he told her.

  “Oh, really? Please don’t stop. You’re being much too kind,” she answered as she started laughing.

  “Uhh, Grady, we actually came over here to tell you that they’re ready to begin. They’re waiting on you all,” Michael told him.

  “Then I guess we had better head that way then,” he said as he held out his arm for Elizabeth. “It would be my honor to walk you over there, Elizabeth,” he told her.

  “I would not have expected anything less from you, Grady,” she said as she took his arm, and they slowly made their way across the field to where Jack was to be laid to rest.

  Both Elizabeth and Grady were very much surprised to see Jack’s casket covered with the American flag. There was also a military color guard and a seven-person precision rifle team, all standing at attention in their polished brass and the stunning uniforms of the United States Marine Corps.

  Elizabeth could not believe, not in her wildest dreams, that Jack would be honored in such a grand fashion as she saw before her. Yes, Grady and Paul had really outdone themselves. Again.

  They slowly made their way to the front row of chairs and took their seats. Little Katie just sat there next to her bigger cousin. Her hands held Katie’s hand as tightly as she could. They just looked at each other and smiled.

  Father Mathews walked up to the podium and stared out at the rather large group of people before him.

  “Friends and families, I’d like to welcome you all on behalf of the Windslow family to the celebration of Jack’s life. Yes, I did say celebration. We’re here to celebrate the life of Jack Windslow or Rings as I’m told that many of you knew him by. Jack wouldn’t want you to mourn his passing into God’s kingdom, but he would want you all to remember him as he lived. But how would you best describe him? Was he a patriot? Yes, he was that. Was he proud to be an American? Without a doubt. Jack gave his life for his country. Maybe he didn’t die on some well-known battlefield in some godforsaken war that was fought so many miles away on some unknown piece of beach. No, sir, Jack died right here, fighting to protect what we so easily take for granted—our freedom. Many of you have asked me if Jack ever served in the Marine Corps because you saw all of these fine men here dressed in their dress uniforms. Well, the answer to that would be no. He never did. But when you have a man such as Jack whose only goal in his life was the protection of America, what better way do we have to honor him than with a full-blooded American military send-off.

  “But there seems to be more to Jack than many of us ever knew before. For unknown to most of us, Jack leaves behind a loving wife, Elizabeth, and a very bright and beautiful little girl, his daughter, Katie. That’s a side of Jack that many of you never knew about.

  “They tell me that to know Jack was to love Jack. Maybe that is true, but now we must remember Jack as he would want you to remember him. Celebrate with us as we celebrate the life of a man that appears to have touched so many in life and in death. Would you please allow me to lead you in prayer?” he asked them as everyone closed their eyes and bowed their heads. “Father, our Lord in heaven, we gather here this fine day to remember our friend Jack Windslow. And give him a proper send-off into your kingdom of glory in the heavens above. We know that Jack has been at your side for some time, but as we lay him to rest, we pray that you have accepted Jack as one of your children. We pray that you guide him through all of eternity in your righteous world above.

  “We pray to you, Father, to give his family and their friends the guidance that they’ll need in the troubled times that lay ahead. Through your never-ending love, we pray. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, we pray to you. Amen.”

  Everyone joined in for the final amen.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we ask all to please stand as the members of the United States Marines send Jack off with a twenty-one-gun salute followed by the removal and the folding of our country’s flag.”

  As the corporal of the guard barked out the orders, the seven-man rifle team fired their guns into the air. They did this three times. The percussion from the rounds sent waves of vibrations throughout the crowd. Katie held on to her cousin as the guns proudly sent out the message, loud and clear.

  They watched as the military honor guard slowly removed the flag from Jack’s casket. Each of their movements was done in precision. As they slowly folded the flag, there wasn’t a dry eye anywhere. Especially in the first row.

  The corporal of the guard slowly laid the flag down on to Elizabeth’s lap. In one precise movement, he stepped back and threw her a perfect salute. The tears flowed from every eye.

  People soon started filing past them as they gave out their condolences to Jack’s family. When they were all finished, Grady slowly helped Elizabeth to her feet just as little Katie leaned over her father’s casket and gave it a hug. “Good-bye, Daddy, I’ll see you when I get to heaven,” she said just as she slowly kissed the coffin that held her father’s remains. She then laid a single red rose on top of the casket.

  Elizabeth laid a rose as well, and as she put her hand on the casket, she told Jack that she loved him. “God bless you, Jack,” she said out loud.

  Katie and Grady each laid a single red rose on top of the casket. As they said their good-byes Grady asked Michael to escort Elizabeth t
o their assigned table. He would join them shortly. He needed to say good-bye to his brother in his own way, he told them. So they left Grady standing by himself at Jack’s graveside.

  Grady just looked at the shining casket that held his brother’s remains. Funny, it was the same casket that Grady had lain in just a few days ago. Grady just giggled a bit.

  “Well, Jack, I did it. I brought you home. You knew that I would, didn’t you? But now we’re faced with some more trauma. You know about Elizabeth already, don’t you? I give you my word, Jack, as your brother, I’ll do everything possible within my power to make her as happy as she can be for as long as she has left here on earth. And your daughter will be taken care of, but you already know that too, don’t you? And she’ll never forget you, brother, I promise. I miss you so much, Jack. I wish that you were here to see this, Jack, in person just so I could tell you that I love you and hold you just one more time. I’ll be joining you and Katherine sometime soon, but I’m not in a hurry so I hope you don’t mind waiting just a bit longer, Jack. So until we meet again. Rest in peace, my brother, and remember that I love you,” he said as he turned to walk away.

  Grady might have felt a little sad, but inside, he was so proud of his brother.

  Grady slowly made his way over to the table where everyone was already seated. He sat down between Elizabeth and her daughter. “So was it what you expected?” he asked Elizabeth.

  “Grady, I never expected anything like that really. Thank you so much. You’re brother would be proud,” she told him.

  Reserved for Presidents and Soldiers

  Little Katie just looked up at her uncle. “Uncle Grady, can I ask you a question?” she asked.

  Grady turned his attention to the blue-eyed little girl sitting next to him. “Sure, sweetheart, what’s your question?” he asked her.

  “Was my daddy a soldier like that one?” she asked as she pointed to one of the Marines walking by.

  “Well, Katie dear, no he wasn’t. Why do you ask?” he said as he looked at her.

  “Well if he wasn’t a soldier, and I don’t think he was ever a president, then why did he have a flag over his coffin?” she asked him. Grady could tell that the little girl was really sincere in her question.

  “Well, honestly, Katie, I’m not sure why he had one,” he told her as he glanced over at Mr. King who was sitting across from them. “Would you care to answer her question?” he asked him.

  “Certainly,” he answered as he dabbed a napkin across his lips. “You’re right. Normally, that honor is reserved for those people who put their lives in danger as part of their job. Just like the policemen, the firemen, and people like that. But your dad deserved the send-off that he received today. And would you like to know why?” he asked her.

  “Yes, I would please. I’d like to know what made my dad so different,” she answered.

  “Different? I don’t know if I would label your dad as being different, but he was special, very special. You see, Katie, there are people who love America, and there are those that really love America. Your dad really loved this great country of ours. And just like so many before him, and a lot more that will follow him, he was willing to put his very life on the line as he tried to defend it. Now, you can defend something, or you can pretend to defend something. And there’s a big difference between the two. If you’re defending something and you know that you’re about to die doing it, you have but two options, don’t you? I mean, you could run away and live to fight another day, or you can stand there and fight, and whatever happens, well, it happens. Your dad stayed fighting for what he believed in. America, the red, white, and the blue. Do you understand so far?” he asked her.

  “Yeah, but what was he fighting against? I don’t understand,” she told him.

  “Katie, you look like a very smart girl, and from what your mom has told me you’re an A student, is that right?” he asked her.

  “Yes, sir. My mom says that a good education is the key to my future,” she answered.

  “And your mother is right. Education is the key. But in your classes, have you talked about the Constitution of the United States?” he asked her.

  “Yes, we have, just a few weeks ago in fact,” she answered.

  “That’s great, but can you tell me what the first three words of the Constitution are?” he asked her.

  “Sure, that’s easy. The first three words are ‘We the people,’” she answered.

  “That’s right. Very good. But does it say ‘We the people but only the chosen ones or just the whites’?” he asked her.

  “No, that would be stupid,” she answered.

  “Well, if it says ‘We the people,’ then maybe you can tell me why the blacks aren’t included in the words ‘We the people,’” he asked her.

  Katie just looked at him with a very questionable look on her face.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Hold that thought for just one second. When you think of America, what one word comes to mind?” he asked her.

  “I would have to say freedom. That’s the first word that came to my mind,” she answered

  “Good choice, but if America stands for freedom, can you tell me why if you’re black, especially here in the south, your freedoms aren’t the same as a white man?” he asked her.

  “I never really thought about before. But I guess that’s just the way that is,” she told him.

  “Well, that answer is why we have a problem in this country. And don’t take it personally, but that way of thinking is wrong. And there’s a lot of people that think just the same way that you do. But they’re wrong. All of them,” he told her.

  “Well, I can see that it’s wrong, but how can we change it?” she asked.

  “Well, you as a person, you alone, might not be able to do a lot, not on your own. But when you add people like me and your Uncle Grady, now there’s three of us. There’s power in numbers,” he told her.

  “But how does all of this stuff entitle my dad into getting a flag over his casket?” she asked him.

  Paul looked around at the other people at the table. He was surprised to see that all of them were glued to their conversation. Even a few passersby had stopped to listen. He returned his attention back to Katie.

  “Your dad stumbled on to something by accident. At first, he probably thought that it was nothing to get worked up over. But he kept an eye open to it all the same. Now back then, he had no way of knowing for sure what was to become of this little group of guys that he had found. But he reported his finding back to Washington just the same. He supplied names and dates and even a few pictures of these guys in action. The government saw the same thing your dad had seen. Trouble, with a capital T,” he told her.

  “What did he find?” she asked.

  “What your dad found was the very first signs of a radical group that had their eyes on destroying the black race here in America. The Ku Klux Klan or the KKK as they would soon be known,” he told her.

  He could see that she was taken totally by surprise.

  “My dad discovered the KKK? Wow!” she said.

  “Well, here’s something that I’m not even sure your uncle knows about. One of these Klan people actually tried to recruit your dad into the Klan. And he pretended to be a part of them. But only for the purpose of gathering any information on these people. So if you were to go back and look at the membership roster for the Klan, if they were stupid enough to have one, you would most likely see your dad’s name,” he told her.

  “My dad actually joined the Klan? Are you sure?” she asked him.

  “Oh, yeah, I’m sure. But your dad was never a member of the Klan. He was a government agent just doing his job. And undercover work is very dangerous, even for guys that were as good as your father was. And when the Klan found out who he was, they killed him.

  “Now, Katie, you have to understand one thing about your dad. He believed that all men, regardless of color, are entitled to the same rights as the man standing next to him.
Even if one was black and the other one was white.

  “But for far too long, the black race here in America has been degraded, demoralized, and looked at as anything but an equal to the white man. Why is it that a black person can’t drink from the same water fountain as a white man? Why does a black man have his own restaurant to eat in? Heck, they can’t even use the same toilet as a white man. Now does that make any sense? I don’t think so. And I’m warning you all, some day they’ll start standing up for equal rights just as the white man. It might be one of them who drinks from a white man’s fountain or maybe one of them will refuse to give up their seat on a bus to a white man. I don’t know, but it’s going to happen. Trust me,” he told them.

  “And that’s why my dad got a flag on his coffin?” she asked.

  “Katie, your dad got a flag draped over his casket because he earned it. He stood for America in ways that no white man ever had. Oh, many have followed your father’s footsteps since then, but you daddy made the trail for them to follow. Your dad was a friend of mine, and I can tell you this. When I think of America, I think of Jack,” he told her.

  “Wow, I wish that I could have met him!” she said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

  “I’ll tell ya a quick story about your dad. You see, your dad always whistled when he worked. The same old tune day after day. And one day, I asked him, ‘Jack what is that tune that you’re always whistling?’ And you know, he looked at me and just told me that it was a song that he had heard, and it just caught on. And you know, the next thing I knew, I was whistling it too. And I still didn’t know the name of it. It sounded familiar, but I just couldn’t put a name to it. And then one day, after your dad had disappeared. I was listening to the radio, and this lady singer Ella Fitzgerald came on singing this song, and the next thing, I knew I was whistling right along with her singing,” he told her.

  “Well, what was the name of the song?” she asked him.

  “Well, if I tell ya, you’ll be whistling it too,” he told

  “I want to whistle to it,” she told him.