After the Short Rows: #1

            Years ago, the editor of our local newspaper, The Smithfield Times, began to write a column called “In the Short Rows.” The column is a combination of various subjects. Sometimes, he details his life growing up on his family farm and the surrounding community in the 1940s. Other times, he writes about local events, both social and political, and gives his perspective. He also often writes about Southern culture in general, including everything from food to common sayings. In 2009, he published his first book, which was compilation of numerous articles he had written over the years. That Christmas, a copy of the book ended up at his brother’s house, a man who happens to be my grandfather. Over the course of a few days before I returned to college, I tore through the book. By the end of it, I began to think about the differences between my uncle’s life on the farm and my own.