There was Barney’s side down around the bend. There was Cyril’s side across the road. With the Lavy side connected to it. Then there was the Loxley side. We never wandered much from our side even though Cyril’s had a huge tree trunk that was resting on the banks of the creek. A tempting, felled tree laid waiting for kids to sit on, while watching a little bit of nothing.

I never thought much about living with the creek running through our property. In fact, I never played in the water. Dad always said we would be covered with leeches. Enough information to keep me on dry land. Dad and his brothers played in the part of the creek that ran along my grandparents’ home. The creek changed with the seasons as did the size of the children. That creek was a strong pull throughout our lives. We took our children there. We went there to think and to sometimes weep. We went there to say goodbye.

I wish I could live my life backwards. More questions would be asked. I just never thought to ask. My questions to my dad on those times together in the field or on our treks through the woods would take on a new dimension. When looking through old pictures, questions remain unanswered. I can only look at the background and faces, trying to create the story in front of me. My time would be filled with absorbing my history and that of the neighborhood. I would look harder and feel deeper. But alas, I cannot live backwards.

The creek was a connection that tied us all together. Yet never did we picnic on those banks or invite neighbors to join us in a day of creekside fun. Dad told me stories of the old Indian who lived by the creek. Stories about the mill set up in the creek where lumber was cut for the new barn. There was a history that only crept into our lives. Now I want to go back and embrace it.

There was something healing and comforting, living by that little creek. My early memories are of Dad showing me the turtles and frogs that lived there. He taught me to skim rocks and to watch minnows. It was a place where the Loxley women visited with their children. A creek that tied us to the land and one another. The creek is part of our hearts.

So, Dad and Mom, I am the memory keeper. Although I live far away, I write a column and live life backwards. Always a child of Neff Road.