To the Editor:
Our grandchildren, Lexi and Paul, had gone home to Boston, but our house seemed unwilling to release them. Their colorful paintings of a parrot and the Ukrainian flag remained on the kitchen counter where they left them. Mini-plastic Fischer-Price people littered the floor. Paul’s water shoes turned up in the bike trailer. And besides these poignant reminders, our refrigerator had broken down. It was a glum day.
I wrote notes for the kids on fun butterfly stationary and packed them to return with Paul’s shoes. Then, heart heavy, I drove down Morehouse to see Mary at the Post Office.
But wait… What in the world? Waves of gold! Acres of sunshine! Fields full of sunflowers!
Stunned and smiling at this extraordinary surprise, I pulled over and parked. I was not alone. Others, too, wandered happily among the flowers, some taking pictures, some gathering bouquets. Every beaming face reflected my feelings: what an incredible gift, this unexpected bounty of beauty… and, who was the giver?
Mary, of course, knows everything, and she told me the Silvermans planted the flowers. When I spoke to Nancy Silverman later, she told me Farmer Irv got the idea as far back as the town vigil when Ukraine was invaded. While giving Easton’s townspeople this wonderful lift, the sunflowers were also a meaningful symbol.
Dave and I have since returned to the fields for golden afternoon walks and photo ops with our daughter and grand-daughter. Thank you, Irv and Nancy, for this joyful surprise.
Dave and Lea Sylvestro
Easton
