Echoes of a Distant Summer (107 page)
Read Echoes of a Distant Summer Online
Authors: Guy Johnson
Mrs. Marquez, teary eyed, came in with a tureen of gravy. She said to Jackson, “This is the best dinner ever for Mrs. Tremain. The best!” She returned to the kitchen wiping her eyes on her apron.
When Jackson stood to say grace, he knew that he would lead the family out of the madness that had torn and separated them for so many years. He did not know whether he would be able to end the violence and death of his grandfather’s wars, or whether he would merely continue them. The only things that he promised himself were that there would be no more secrets and half-hidden truths. It was his desire to bring all the family, perhaps even Franklin, but definitely his children, to the table, to be sharing and supportive of one another, so that none of the children now being raised would ever look back on a haunting, distant summer with fear and trepidation.
He bowed his head and began, “Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings …”
This book is dedicated to Caylin Nicole Johnson and Brandon Bailey Johnson, my grandchildren. Their lives lie before them, winding into the mists of the unknown. May future suns shine down upon them as gently as the ones that I have felt, and may the mountains they climb provide vistas that reach deep into their souls and cause them to be creative beings. Sweet children of the morrow, you have my heart. I hope only to have paved a small part of the path you will travel.
As with any work that stretches into thousands of words, there are many people who must be thanked. Chief among them is my wife, Stephanie Floyd-Johnson, reader of a million versions and edits; sometimes impatient, but always loving and supportive. Then there are my friends and family: the village without whom there would be no one to ricochet against, no sounding board, and no harmonics with which to tune the personal melody. First, my mother: the artist in full stride, who has reached heights that I can only dream about. My cousin, Rosa Johnson, the artist in waiting. Then my irascible, independent-thinking friends. I mention the readers only: Amelia Parker, Ron Merritt, Janice Jones, Ernie Carpenter, Kate Hogdon, Lora Condon, Geoff Wood, Calvin Sharpe, Steve Turer, Sharon Brown, Al Nellum, Jim and Cynthia Hill, Leigh and Leland Brown, Norman Jayo, Elliot Daum, and Paul Schabracq. Paul deserves particular mention because he was the one who in 1982 suggested that I put pen to paper and write down some of the stories about my grandfather. From such simple beginnings came
Standing at the Scratch Line
and this book. Finally, I would thank my agent, Helen Brann, who has supported my work from the early years and represented me so ably.
A
LSO BY
G
UY
J
OHNSON
Standing at the Scratch Line
Guy Johnson is the author of the novel
Standing at the Scratch Line
, and a book of poetry,
In the Wild Shadows
. After graduating from high school in Egypt, he completed college in Ghana. Johnson managed a bar on Spain’s Costa del Sol, ran a photo-safari service from London through Morocco and Algeria, and worked on oil rigs in Kuwait. Most recently he worked in the local government of Oakland, California, for more than ten years. He lives in Oakland with his wife and son. He is the son of Dr. Maya Angelou. To learn more about Guy Johnson and his work, visit his website at
www.guyjohnsonbooks.com
.
