TheBanyanTree: JUST SAY NO

[Sharon Mack]

JUST SAY NO
	By Sharon Atherholt Mack

Lucas was a farmer....and he was a good one.  He dug in the earth and
made things grow.  He cared for the animals and they produced for him. 
His wasn't a big farm but his was a good farm and he loved what he
did.  He asked for no more.

	The day the three men appeared on his doorstep he was about to
go out to tend to his chores.  The dawn was only slightly showing on the
horizon.  The dark suits looked out of place that time of the morning. 
Lucas was surprised to see them at his farm.  He had an immediate sense
of foreboding.  Lucas was an honest and straightforward man. He let his
emotions show.

	They said they wanted to talk business.  Had a deal for him. 
His land was prime real estate property and they knew some folks who had
big plans for it.  Lucas shook his head slowly and started to walk away.
 He didn't have time to talk; besides he knew he wasn't interested. 
He loved the land.  He liked what he did.  He stuck his hat back on his
head.  It was tattered and sweat-stained but it was comfortable and kept
the sun from his eyes.  The men put their hats back on their heads and
said they'd come again.  Perhaps when he had more time.  Their hats
fit them perfectly and had no stains of sweat.  The hats looked like
they were new.

	It was a long time before he saw the men again.  It was
summertime and very hot and humid.  They were in shirtsleeves and wore
dark glasses.  Their ties flapped in the wind.  They had their hands in
their pockets or on their hips and stood in the middle of the great
field looking around.  One put his hand to his forehead to shield his
eyes from the great hot sun.  Lucas saw them from his tractor and went
on with his work.  He pretended not to notice.

	They met him on the path coming from the barn to the house. 
Lucas wiped his sweaty brow with his bandanna.  He was hungry and the
smell of dinner coming from the house made him feel his hunger all the
more.  Lucas did not want to talk to these men but they blocked his
path.  They greeted him with their hands outstretched.  Lucas had to
wipe his hands on his jeans first.  He shook their hands with a dubious
look on his face.  They smiled with their mouths but their eyes were
hidden behind the dark glasses.  All three men looked as though they had
come from the same mold.  They acted in unison as one man.  One very
practiced man.

	Lucas waved them to the large family picnic table.  He'd made
it as a boy for his parents.  He did not want these men in his house. 
They all sat down.  One to his left.  The other two across from him. 
They never removed their glasses.  He never saw their eyes.  They just
began talking very quickly about the selling of his land.  About a deal
he could not refuse.  He refused.  There was a great silence.

	Lucas got up from the table.  No one said good-bye.  No one
shook hands.  They just sat there while he walked into the house.  After
the door slammed shut he heard them walking on the graveled path and
then their car start up in the driveway.  Relief flooded his mind and
his soul.  Removing his heavy boots, he walked into the great kitchen
and sat down to his evening meal.

                     
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Lucas had been a farmer...and he had been a good one.  He used to like
digging in the earth and making things grow.  He had enjoyed caring for
the animals, too.  His wife remembered his honest and straightforward
ways and smiled a wistful smile.  She stood in the middle of the great,
now empty field with his tattered hat in her hands and rubbed the sweat
stained band with her fingers.  The cornstalks left at the edges were
brown and dried.  It was how her heart felt.
	
The workman saw her from his high perch on the bulldozer and wondered
why she was there.  He watched for a moment then shook his head and went
on with his work.