The Rock in Letter D Township

To the Editor:

Congratulations to the new owner(s) of the Rock they "found" at Beaver Pond off Route 17 in Letter D Township.

If you are an adult (teenager), your parents have taught you well. Like a crow, you saw something shiny, and you took it. It had some writings and borders around the edges, but you thought you deserved it. You probably cleaned off the writings and bragged to your friends how you found it. Let's hope after reading this letter, they really know your inner person. You will have good memories every time you look at the Rock.

Let me tell you about the Rock. It was nothing but a typical river rock found on your property along the Swift River. It weighed about 15 or 20 pounds, except it was flat on one side and somewhat shaped like a heart. My wife thought it would make a nice headstone for her sister, Fern.

Fern Doyen (nickname Snookie) was the daughter of my father and mother-in-law, Ray and Helen Doyen. She never heard her mother sing a lullaby, never bounded on her father's knee, smell the flowers, taste an ice cream. She couldn't jump rope or catch a butterfly.

You see, Snookie was born an invalid. She laid in a fetal position for 42 years, and was fed through a tube in her stomach, and without a doubt, she will be glorified in Heaven than you or I can ever imagine.

Snookie spent her life at various facilities. My in-laws always provided for their daughter. Sending clothes, teddy bears and such needed items to her, and gifts for the care providers. Snookie was near the end of her life when my in-laws got the call. My wife happened to be visiting them at the time, and she went with them to see her sister for the first time and give a final good-bye.

My in-laws had her cremated and wanted her ashes spread in the wilderness and we thought Beaver Pond area would be a nice place where her spirit could hear the cry of the loons, smell the balsam forest, see a sunset, watch a moore forage for lily pads and taste the sweetness of the dew on the wildflowers.

You see, all Snookie's spirit had left in this world was a rock and to cling to and you took it, but hopefully every time you look at your rock, please say a prayer for yourself because Snookie's prayers have already been answered.

Can anyone tell me what kind of people we've become now? What's next? The northern lights placed in cemeteries that shine so brightly at night or the crosses placed along the highways. Have we become a people that live in our comfort zones and are afraid to speak up and look outside our "box?"

Isaiah 45:23 -- Unto Me, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. What will you tell Jesus on your judgment day?

Tim Canwell,

Roxbury