My class and I lost a dear, dear, friend and supporter

[WriterofWords]

Thank you all very much.

 

[Portia]

You, your class, your son and the experience of being able to pass along a dearly cherished hobby must have done much to enrich Charlie's life. Know that the experience ehanced and will continue to touch and guide all the lives that it encirlcled.

 

[Cheep Mama]

Very touching. I said a prayer for everyone involved.

 

[Cara]

I'm sorry for your loss. It's great that he was able to pass on his passion to kids before he passed. Poultry people are hard to find in this state!

 

[WriterofWords]

You're right there, Charlie moved here from CA to be able to raise his birds in peace. They were his babies.

 

[shortcake1806]

Sorry to hear of the loss of such a dear man. Your sons class will grow up with a love of chickens because of him. But more than that they've experienced the joy of someone sharing freely their most valuable comodity their time. There's nothing more precious to a child.

 

[WriterofWords]

Quote:
You hit the nail on the head right there, it's so hard to find those who will give their time and attention to a bunch of low-income kids who can't pay to have "specialists" visit the class to talk with them.

 

[NoelTate]

I'm very sorry about the loss your community experienced. I'm sure it enriched Charlie's life as much as the students to interact with them. I know my students touch me and teach me more than I ever do them! I grew up with a lot of older people in the church and neighborhood who were willing to take time with me, talk to me, and teach me things. As an adult, those are some of my most cherished memories. Your son will never forget him. My thoughts will be with you and your students.

 

[WriterofWords]

Charlie offered my son and my students a taste of what I had growing up. I would ride up to the hardware store with my Grandad and sit around a wood burning cast iron stove and just soak up the stories and things I would hear. That is one thing that got me started as a writer, recording those stories.
When he would come to the class he would start talking about when he was younger and how his Grandma would send him out to either get eggs for breakfast or a chicken for Sunday dinner if someone important was stopping by.
He tried to impress on them how each little bird had feelings, and they could be scared or hurt just like a child or adult could. He made a big difference in the lives of these kids who were raised to think cock-fighting was ok and normal and that the birds did it naturally. He was driving force behind getting that out-lawed here.
Steven will be a pall bearer for the first time tomorrow. I'm not real sure how I feel about that, he's only 16, but Charlie had asked him to do it a few weeks ago when they found his cancer. I don't think he knew it would be so soon.

 

[hoosier]

It sounds like Charlie was a very special man. It is nice that he took the time to touch all those lives...and I am sure more to come as his lessons will be carried forward by some of those he taught.