One afternoon nearly 50 years ago, a 16-year-old farm girl named Rita overheard her father talking with another man. They were discussing the beleaguered state of the American small farm. The man was Mr. Arnold, a farmer near Le Roy, and the father of Rita’s new boyfriend George.
Rita couldn’t help but overhear. That world is dying, they said. It’s too hard a life, they said.
Rita knew that the men were talking about her future, too. She piped up. “Wait now — well, what about George?”
“He’s dying, too,” declared her…
ARNOLD’S MARKS 40th
