Tom Hardesty's Family

Sons Max and Jude, both of Portland, Oregon and two daughters, Tamara of Manchester, Connecticut and Ilana of Watertown, Massachusetts.
 
               
 

Shipwrecked

by Thomas Jefferson Hardesty

A man in a boat far from shore,
Becalmed, set to drift with no oar,
Paddles madly toward land,
Using not but one hand.
In same spot circles 'round o'er and o'er!

No way can he see the sad fix he's in,
Alone, lost at sea, mind plays tricks on him:
His position, most vile,
He cannot reconcile-
Throws himself to sharks! They say: "Nix," to him.

No slower death, then, than starvation!
Of water deprived, worst ablation!
The bright sun does its part
To parch this poor man's heart,
But life's force to life clings-strange equation!

So, just when we think we're whipped-beaten!-
We're spared by desires, old, moth-eaten!
What to life makes us cling,
When life sorrows doth bring?
Yet we cling, with no answers! We cling!

O Death, I ask, what can the matter be,
My life such as 'tis, you won't take from me?
Neither barter, nor trade?
Leave me here to upbraid?
And to suffer in silence, emphatically?

"The answer you'll find, if you're clever,
"Is in your own mind, was forever
"If life's secrets you'd plumb,
"Look inside-rule of thumb!-
"See there mirrored all human endeavor!"

Some stories are best left untold!
The best in sweet dreams do unfold!
For "imaginings" best
Tell us where our heart rests
With us!-Secrets, none keeps, if but polled!

O Lost!* Close thine eyes, look within!
No parable need thee to swim!
Head first dive in the drink,
Before life, boat, both sink!
Trust first impulses, instincts thy jinn!

Then hand over hand, don't look back!
Your ship on the rocks, ruin wracked!
Best abandon your boat,
If to hold tight your hope!
Swim for dear life, Love! You've got the knack!

***** ***** *****

*"O lost, and by the wind grieved, ghost, come back again," Look Homeward, Angel, 1929, by Thomas Wolfe
 
               
   

  When Tom flew into the Washington area in the fall of 1999, he stopped by for dinner. We had a very lively conversation around the dining room table, Tom, Dad, Jo, Ed and I. While Ed was enthusiastically discussing foreign movies, Dad was reminiscing about his young years in Iowa City, Iowa. Tom told Dad that the cornstalks around Sigourney were gigantic that year, nearly twice as tall as an average man!

Dad said, "Baloney! Sounds like a damn tall tale to me, Tom!"

Mr. Hardesty insisted that he was telling the truth and was not trying to be "corny!" Several weeks later, we received a mysterious, lumpy, oblong package delivered gingerly by UPS. The label had the characteristic bold scrawl that indicated that the odd parcel was from Sigourney, Iowa...

When we opened it we found an entire dried Iowa cornstalk, carefully sawed into three sections labelled "A", "B" and of course "C". The cornstalk came complete with instructions for assembly and even had wooden dowels inserted for our convenience! When fully assembled the stalk indeed lived up to Mr. Hardesty's claims, dwarfing my Dad as he posed with it on our front steps!
    
               
 

A Cracker Jack sailor that reminded Tom of "Mikey"

Dad with Tom's "tall tale" cornstalk

A little bit of sunshine that came by mail one day

 Mom was bedbound with multiple sclerosis but she was charmed by Tom's personality and keyboard concert. Sadly, Mom passsed over on December 5, 2004, a little over a month after Tom died.

 Any subject was fair game for Tom's devilish sense of humor.

 Need I say more? :-)

I think some of the happiest weeks in Tom's life were spent journeying to the achingly beautiful countryside of New Zealand with his beloved Carol. How he liked to captivate us with tales of his (mis)adventures while visiting that faraway land.

Boyhood friend Pete Seaba sent me this recent picture of Tom. Thanks Pete.

 We miss you, Tom. :*-(
 
               
   

 

 
    
               
   

"Man With a Past, Girl With a History" by Iowa's Bootrockets