home, farm, & garden
Kilroy Was Here Brown County State Park, Nashville, Indiana, 1975. It was scratched there, deep into the top of the old, battered picnic table: Kilroy was here. The words were large, almost ornate when compared to other, less appropriate things scrawled across its surface and down on the benches. Even a nearby tree had the many names and initials of lovers encased in graven hearts, announcing to all who passed that way their declaration of a love meant to last “4ever!” But Kilroy’s declaration impacted us the most. My three teenage brothers-in-arms and I wanted to make our own eternal mark on the park, as good or better than good ol’ Kilroy. And so we began. No self-respecting young man went anywhere without his trusty Swiss army knife back in those His was the largest, days, so we set about carving our names into the face of deepest, and most eternity, er – the picnic table. stately of all the When we’d finished, we were of ourselves and our engravings on that proud handiwork. We trooped heavy wooden table. off, happy with our latest backwoods adventure. What we hadn’t counted on though was that the Brown County State Park rangers knew there was only one group of young men, four in number, who had been spotted wandering around the picnic area that typically slow weekday in September, and it didn’t take them long to track us down in our campground – along with our irate and embarrassed parents. The rangers were quick to provide us with plenty of sandpaper, stain, and varnish to make the table’s surface “good as new!” they said.
10 • SURRY LIVING Oct. 2021 Issue
by Larry VanHoose All our weak and whiny complaints that the whole table had already been well carved up before we even got there fell on deaf ears, and the rangers just smiled and commented that the others hadn’t gotten caught as we had. Our parents offered no sympathy. I am quite proud to say that when we finished, the picnic table looked amazing, probably much better than it had when it was first placed in service there in the park. Four or five hours of sanding later, and we were able to mostly erase the innumerable statements of love, fond memories, and not-so-fond remarks. All but Kilroy’s that is. His was the largest, deepest, and most stately of all the engravings on that heavy wooden table. The words and work of Kilroy might not have lasted forever, but they certainly survived our best efforts to eradicate them that day. As for the rest of us, we were going to have to go out in the world and find another way to make our mark on eternity. Hopefully, a legal one the next time. Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. Malachi 3:16 NIV You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side! Psalm 56:8 NLT
