situation to be in — can't look back and can't look ahead — thank God I didn't stay there long.
It took me a few days before I remembered dad's proverbs. “If you find yourself in a situation you can’t control, at least control yourself,” seemed said just for the night Della and I stood and watched the shop go up in flames. His words spoken so many years ago, seemed said just for this crisis in my life! Just, for this moment! “No matter whether the shoe fits or not, if you’re gonna have to wear it, make the best of it.” For several weeks I had no desire left in me to rebuild my shop and start over. One night as I poured myself into my memories, reading a story that I had written in my first story book catalogue, entitled A Debt of Gratitude the words jumped off the page and into my heart. As long as I live you can always find me close to the Ole Red River. I was born here, raised here; my heart and soul are here along the sandbars and swift waters of Ole Red listening to the wind whispering through the willers. I began that night making plans to rebuild! Dad’s words of wisdom and seeing my proclamation in print had put me back together again. The tedious job of rebuilding began. The bulldozer came and began digging a hole for what remained of my shop. A few days after the big yellow bulldozer came and buried the charred aftermath of my shop, the memory of seeing the remains removed subsided. I soon had a new shop, some new tools and some new equipment; not what I had before, but I learned to make do.
My Dream Machine completely melted in the heat of the fire; so, I decided to rebuild her with a few minor improvements. I decided that canoes would do a better job than the chunks of Styrofoam.
