Individuals emerge.....

With both roads inaccessible, he considered the legitimate position of retreat. After all, there were plenty of folks at the shelter and many more who had returned to their soggy homes that required attention as well. In fact, there are guidelines in place that discourage reckless inspections, making the decision to move on down the list that much easier. But then again…..

So he ended up 25 miles north and west, and then came to a manageable river crossing allowing him to reach the farm house from the opposite side. There, sitting on what was the river bank, now partially submerged, was a classic New England farmhouse, circa 1790, barn red.

He had learned about this river, the Sudbury, by talking with the residents and officials around the nearby town of Wayland. “This water course drops only an inch in twenty miles” said one long-timer, “when she floods, she pops her banks and goes wide in both directions,” he surmised.

Parked up on high ground he pulled on his waders and slowly descended on the lone structure. The rains had all passed now and the sun was shining and the air was fresh and cool. He could hear a violin strumming from the farmhouse, almost a “titanic” sort of sound that emphasized the melancholy.

The first floor was submerged, yet there were 2” x 12”oak planks that led from the dry ground to the front porch. Reaching the porch he began to call out the name on the list and got no response, but the music played on. Stepping into the front door he saw the source of the melody standing in front of the fire place, up on a makeshift wooded platform, staring at sheet music, perched on an easel, sawing away on the instrument above the cold river water.

This home had been in his family for generations. His great-great had built it. You get the idea…..he wasn’t leaving. So he just found a dry place to sit, and there he sat for twenty minutes or so, listening. Turns out “old John” could really play, and play well. John was 76 years old that day, the same day the river came calling to his front door.


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