My Whole World. Episode 12.

My Whole World is the sixth series in the Dusty Town original historical fiction sequence written by Mary Ann DiLorenzo. Set in rural Kansas just prior to the turn of the century and continuing through the early 1900s, the series follows the Strong family through the challenges and joys of life in Midwest America.

Meeting John Devan. Episode 12.

When those he loved he could see back in the distance no more, Willie looked for a seat inside the Georgia bound train. He found a man sitting by himself, a man about his pa’s age he reckoned, seeming deep in thought.

Willie approached the man and asked, “Pardon me sir, wonderin’ if you’d mind my sittin’ there in the seat next to you? If it’s not taken of course.”

The man looked up and smiled. “Certainly son, where are my manners! I was deep in thought I guess. Name’s Devan, John Devan.”

“Strong, Willie Strong, nice to meet you sir.”

“Likewise. Where you headed son?” Devan asked.

“Decatur sir, to see my family.”

“Mighty nice son. I don’t have family any more. Headed to Stone Mountain myself where all us old Confederates are having a reunion. Don’t no one care much about the war anymore but I’ll like seeing my old friends again and catchin’ up.”

Then Willie remembered the story his pa would tell of going to the Mine Creek battlefield where Jesse, his pa’s brother and Willie’s uncle, had been killed. There he would see an old man beside his son Timothy Devan’s grave. And then Willie just had to ask.

“Sir, do you know of a Timothy Devan?”

The older man turned to look at Willie, with a look that seemed to erase years of time from the older man’s face. And then a smile perhaps, or maybe just a faded remembrance of days long gone. “I had a brother Timothy. Killed in the war. At Mine Creek it was. I was fighting in the east when I got the news. Why you askin’ son?”

“My pa would tell me how when he went to Mine Creek to find where his brother Jesse had fallen, he met this old man next to the grave of a Timothy Devan. Timothy was the old man’s son and he missed him so, like my pa missed his brother. Pa told me that old man helped him come to terms with his brother Jesse’s death and move on from it.”

When Willie finished speaking, Devan continued to look at Willie, and beyond him to days which seemed forever ago. He cleared his throat then and told Willie, “That old man was my father. He missed my brother until the day he died. Hard times, the war, for those fightin’ and those waitin’ back home. A lot of times, turned out there wasn’t anything to wait for anymore.”

They rode on in silence for a while, watching the miles pass by as they headed east. Farms, fields, woods, and small towns, as the train chugged along. Devan broke the silence first.

“So son, tell me about your Uncle Jesse. Was he Reb or Yank?”

“U.S. Cavalry. Didn’t know him only what my pa has told me. And seeing some of the letters he wrote home. My pa lost another brother when Quantrill rode through. He wasn’t there to see it. He had left some time before.”

“I see. We had to be tough back then, so much heartache, both sides. We all did what we thought we had to do and then most of us just kept doing it until it wore itself out I guess and it was over.”

Devan continued, “I was with General Lee that day at Appomattox. I will never forget the dignity of that man and the concern he had for all of his men. Won’t forget General Grant either, the sadness in his eyes when he rode up the dusty road to that farmhouse to meet General Lee.” And his voice trailed off into silence.

Willie responded after a while. “Named one of my boys after my uncle Jesse.”

“Did you now son!” Devan smiled.

They rode on again in silence as the sun began to set behind their eastbound train in the American Midwest.

Previous Episodes of My Whole World
And Just Like That, Everything’s Changed. Episode 1.
Feeling a Glimmer of Hope. Episode 2.
Uncertain About Everything. Episode 3.
“Don’t Forget Me Dad.” Episode 4.
The Weight of Jake’s Letter. Episode 5.
Months Go By. Episode 6.
Time to Act. Episodes 7 & 8.
Leaving. Episode 9.
Moving Forward. Episode 10.
I’ve Been in Your Shoes. Episode 11.