Tom Hartwig, a man in his mid-eighties, has lived under the
same Wisconsin roof his entire life. Tom
was born in the family farmhouse, moved his bride into the same bedroom he slept
in as a baby, and has worked the family farm from that house since 1958 when
his father retired and moved up the hill to a small cottage. This is not to say that Tom is a stranger to
change, however, because, thanks to President Eisenhower and the Federal-Aid
Highway Act, an interstate highway now runs through his front yard. The highway that opened in November 1967
carries over 8 million cars and trucks past the Hartwigs’ kitchen window every
year. One has only to consider the
constant hum of road noise the Hartwig’s have learned to cope with to
understand the depth of what was stolen from them all those years ago.
Author Michael Perry (Population:
485; Truck: A Love Story; and Coop) is Tom’s friend and neighbor. Perry does not consider Tom to be his mentor,
but recognizes that with each visit to the Hartwig household, he “accrues
certain clues to comportment – as a husband, as a father, as a citizen.” Readers of Visiting Tom are likely to come away from the book feeling much the
same.
The official opening of the new highway offered an immediate
glimpse of things to come. The
ribbon-cutting’s opening prayer included a local pastor’s plea that drivers
“use sound judgment when driving” the new road.
Then, the fifty-car motorcade of state dignitaries led away a group of
locals and others wanting to be among the first to test drive the new
route. Just twenty-three minutes after
the celebratory ribbon was cut, the interstate suffered its first traffic
accident - and Tom’s life has never been the same.
Michael Perry |
Visiting Tom is a
dual biography in which the author alternates sections recounting his visits to
the Hartwig farm with chapters about the goings-on at his own house just up the
road from Tom’s – and how Tom’s influence is helping him cope with his own set of
everyday problems. Tom Hartwig is one of
the most self-sufficient men imaginable.
During his eight decades, he has mastered all the skills necessary to
keep a farm running despite anything the economy might throw at him. If Tom cannot find a spare part for one of
his farm implements, he makes one. He
delights in scavenging parts from broken down machinery to put together one
complete machine that works – and he has a story to tell about every machine,
building, and corner of his farm, including a tale about the push broom left
behind by the highway construction crew in 1967.
But the beautiful thing about Tom and Arlene Hartwig is the
couple’s grace under fire. After losing
their battle to keep the interstate highway from their front door, the Hartwig’s
proceeded to adapt to the lifestyle left to them. Utilizing a combination of grace, patience,
and inward placidity, they have made the most of what they have. Rather than becoming bitter about what they
lost, they enjoy what is theirs.
There is a valuable lesson there for all of us.
This is at the top of my list for 2013. I think I know people like Tom & Arlene & they are an example for us all.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, Visiting Tom is a definte "must read," IMO. People like Tom and Arlene are becoming rare, I'm afraid. So much quiet dignity in that couple despite the horror of seeing the family homestead trashed the way theirs was...amazing.
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