I watched a TV commercial the other day where a man took his son and grandson fishing. (There are actually many commercials like this one on TV.) In this one, the fish is caught and released. I was reminded I never once went fishing with my grandfather.
He was rather silent when it came to me. And I suppose a lot of that was the great difference in our ages. The year I was born John E. Mott would only have 12 years left on this earth. Considering the fact I did not live with him and was not terribly communicative the first five years of my life, it wasn’t too surprising to learn I didn’t have a lot of time to sit and jaw with Grandpa Mott.
He was born in Kansas at the end of the 19th century and his family was driven off their homestead by either bad weather or a locust plague. I never learned the actual reason. But, at the age of 9, he and his older sister drove what remained of their livestock all the way from Kansas to Indiana. The rest of the family traveled in a wagon to get to their destination. It’s not surprising Grandpa grew up to be a very good horseman and handler of livestock. He settled in western Indiana.
When I came into the picture, the family was living in Newport and they would move to a larger farm of their own about three years after I was born. I did not know at the time but the first house I had memory of was the house they left before going to a farm just north of Hillsdale.
It was here I occasionally got some spoken words out of Grandpa. There was an old, rusting John Deere with its front wheels against the side of the horse barn, the one nearest the house, and that site was quite visible to the house. I would learn later Grandpa was driving the tractor and had run it into the side of the barn all the time yelling, “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” And the tractor set there and spun its wheels until the motor died.
So, one Sunday years later looking at the tractor I asked Grandpa, a man who farmed with horses and mules, why he didn’t farm with the tractor. He was whittling and spit, (I don’t believe Grandma allowed him to chew in the house) paused and said to me, “Well, Ronnie, you see, you can’t whip a tractor.” Even though I was barely in school, I understood that logic completely.
Grandpa pulled the old trick on me when I was a preschooler by informing me if I put salt on a bird’s tail it would stand there and let me catch it. I spent one entire afternoon after Sunday dinner trying desperately to put salt on the tails of the many birds in the yard. I was not successful. I think it’s the hardest I ever saw Grandpa laugh … me chasing around the yard with a salt shaker in my hand.
Later on, he would tell me about a tornado he tried to out-run when he was on horseback. He informed me he and the horse got swept into the vortex of the tornado and Grandpa would get dropped into a tree where he was banged up, bruised, and with some cuts and scratches. The horse was never found. I didn’t believe him, but since television has brought us graphic pictures of tornadoes and their power, the story certainly could be true.
I never got to go fishing with John Elmer Mott, but he left me with lasting memories. That quiet old man who chewed (chawed) tobacco and farmed with horses and mules would not only disappear from my life, but that type of man would disappear totally from American life.
Ronn Mott, a longtime radio personality in Terre Haute, writes commentaries for the Tribune-Star. His pieces are published online Tuesday and Thursday on Tribstar.com, and in the print and online editions on Saturday.
Opinion
Related Photos
-
Ronn Mott
Discussion
RONN MOTT: Grandfathers
- Opinion
-
-
RONN MOTT: Mushrooms = Hoosier happiness
Someone wrote or said a few years ago a statement that would define the word “Hoosier.” According to this urban legend, a Hoosier is somebody dribbling a basketball around the Indy 500 while eating a fried, morel mushroom. It did not define me, at the time.
-
EDITORIAL: Insult to an independent press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
-
READERS' FORUM: May 17, 2013
Hinduism doesn’t deserve ridicule — Shefali Purohit, Terre Haute
-
RONN MOTT: Israel’s Air Force
Recently the Israeli Air Force bombed and rocketed a convoy leaving Syria going to Lebanon with rockets that were going to be used to attack Israel. It did not get there. It was destroyed.
-
EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: Dashing finish for the Sycamores
It’s always thrilling to see Indiana State University’s athletic teams do well in high-level competition, and two specific teams rose to impressive heights last weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference outdoor track and field championships.
-
Readers' Forum: May 16, 2013
Moving Deming folks sounds ‘nuts’
-
Readers' Forum: May 15, 2013
Participants rise to the challenge: I would like to write a letter congratulating all the Wabash Valley Roadrunners that competed in the One America Indianapolis Mini Marathon.
-
RONN MOTT: Media merry-go-round
Round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows. That isn’t a unique phrase to this writer or to this era in time. But, when it comes to the musical chairs of broadcasting, it certainly applies.
-
LIZ CIANCONE: Courts see a different appearance than cops
Have you ever noticed the transformation between the arrest of an accused lawbreaker and the first appearance in court?
-
READERS' FORUM: May 14, 2013
ISTEP failure exposes flaws
Community hasn’t changed its spirit
Egregious threat to nation’s defense
-
READERS' FORUM: May 13, 2013
• Women’s group criticizes Bucshon
• Let’s hope this doesn’t come true
• Many get thanks for fest success
-
MARK BENNETT: Life at face value: Mom’s simple advice still presents a valuable daily challenge
Most moms don’t base their advice on scientific research.
(Unless, of course, your mother is a scientific researcher. If so, carry a No. 2 pencil and take good notes.) -
EDITORIAL: Better monitoring needed to prevent local environmental messes
The nasty, hazardous messes lurking in the community raise a bottom-line, red-flag question. Could these environmental problems have been monitored and, thus, prevented?
-
GUEST COLUMN: Nursing more than medicine and bandages
Being a nurse … Like most nurses, I chose this profession because I had a strong desire to help others and no other career would allow me the opportunity to touch lives the way I have been able to through nursing.
-
READERS' FORUM: May 12, 2013
Vigo Youth Football, entering 45th year, seeks new support
Media ignoring important case on abortions
Proud to be old-fashioned
Guns in school? What’s next?
Promoting hate not a ‘brave’ act
-
FLASHPOINT: Again in 2013 General Assembly, middle class generally ignored
Last year, the people of Indiana entrusted the Republican Party with some of their most precious possessions.
-
RONN MOTT: ‘Raccoons II’
In the Algonquin Indian language, raccoon means “working with hands.” They are really cute little fellows until they injure a child, or a pet, or leave feces around where you certainly do not want it.
-
Readers’ Forum: May 11, 2013
I just wanted to express my disappointment at the lack of response shown by President Obama after the Boston Marathon bombings.
-
Readers' Forum: May 10, 2013
CANDLES event plants new seed: On April 26, CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center hosted an event called “Sowing Seeds of Peace: A Celebration of Spring” at the Apple House. Our purpose was to introduce people to our concept of forgiveness as a seed for peace.
-
RONN MOTT: ‘NRA Convention’
At the recent NRA Convention in Houston, Texas, where the right-wing political hot air almost lifted the convention's building off its foundation, the NRA trotted out the forever yours political dame of the right wing, Sarah Palin. Sarah did not disappoint.
-
EDITORIAL: Memo to U.S.A.: You can ‘SPPRAK’ just as we do in Vigo County
Our kids, truly, are ‘Making a Difference’
-
Some words in praise of boring government — Indiana’s
A conservative Republican governor has super majorities in both branches of the legislature. One might suspect such one-party government leads to major changes in public policy. This did not happen in 2013 in Indiana.
-
EDITORIAL: Doc’s prescient prescription
Viewed through a 2013 prism, Doc Bowen’s response to the AIDS epidemic looks merely prudent, routine.
-
RONN MOTT: ‘Heritage gone’
The last high school I attended was being torn down just a few days ago. I didn't learn about it until I saw classmate Dick Mills on television and a display he had put together about State football championships in the middle 1930's. I began elementary school with Dick Mills. That was Matthew South Elementary School on South Sixth Street in Clinton, Indiana. After seeing Dick on TV, it dawned on me that all schools I had attended in Clinton have been torn down.
-
LIZ CIANCONE: We always want more than we need
Washington seems more preoccupied with the unemployment rate than they are about the constant stalemate. Still with thousands out of work and the unemployment rate hovering somewhere between 7 percent and 9 percent, it does deserve more than a passing nod.
-
FLASHPOINT: Indiana lawmakers reinforced school safety mechanisms
Nothing is more important to me than the safety of my children. Every parent has felt that instant, apprehensive rush when their child plays too close to the street or falls down while playing soccer and it is our responsibility as parents to implement every safety mechanism we can muster to protect our kids.
-
READERS’ FORUM: May 6, 2013
• Money drives our newfound ‘needs’
• Guns not the only dangerous objects
-
MARK BENNETT: Should I stay or should I go?
Some have their Bill Clinton-era Cavalier packed (with the trunk bungee-ed shut), apartment cleaned (except for the fridge), and iPhone GPS locked onto the fastest route out of Terre Haute. Others are staying — until they find a better job, or because they’re starting a career here, or because this town feels like home. In each case, a new stage of life begins today.
-
EDITORIAL: Education remains worth the cost
Within the next few weeks, each of the local colleges will have conducted graduation ceremonies. A few days later, a different Class of 2013 will don caps and gowns for commencement — the seniors at five Vigo County high schools. It is still a smart, worthy aspiration for those high school grads to replicate the achievement of those college students by earning a higher-education degree.
-
College Class of '13 gets a little extra advice
Local college grads will hear commencement speakers offer life and career advice this month. We’re offering them an extra dose here from folks who’ve found success in various vocations and regions of the nation. Many have Terre Haute roots.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
RONN MOTT: Mushrooms = Hoosier happiness
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
China, Others Want What's Under the Arctic Ice
Raw: Suicide Bomber Kills 2 Americans, 13 Others
Officials Arrest Man in Idaho in Terrorism Case
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
Music Therapy Bonds Parents and Preemies
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Raw: Pope Frees Doves From Cage
Raw: 6 Die in Russian Ship Fire
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
Raw: Marines Come to Obama's Aid in the Rain
Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder
Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner
Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion
Beyonce Is Pregnant!
SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch
See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion
Woman tricked into taking abortion pill
Emma Watson Goes Pantless
IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes
Play of the Day: Flipping to Safety
Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos
Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths
Cindy Crawford Stuns At Cannes
CUTE: Monkey shares lollipop with dog, then HITS pooch on head with it
Miranda Kerr Looks Sexy in a Bikini Photo Shoot
Hatchet-wielding viral video star, once a hero, now a murder suspect
