Ed has a crow on the farm who followed him everywhere, was always sitting by the barn or by the back door. Since Ed became sick, the crow sits outside of the room where he lies, staying by the back door, staying near Ed.
Crows are known to recognize people, and Ed has always talked to animals, cows, peacocks, chickens and goats. even hawks. This crow is always looking for him now, always near. So he drew him today.
Farmers are the world’s greatest animal lovers, something the animal rights movement has overlooked in its passionate race to remove animals from human lives.
Like most farmers, Ed knows animals in a particular way, he lives with the, helps them birth, sometimes slaughters them, he is with them day and night. I have rarely met any animal lover who loves animals as much or more as a farmer.
Ed is failing, and animals – dogs, cats, a crow, cows, a parrot, a big goat – are all around him.
He is exhausted, and he believes his organs are beginning to shut down. He has moments of clarity and energy, during which he talks to Carol, sits up, eats some ice cream or beans, and then falls back asleep.
But the creative spark in him is powerful, he wants us to do a video every day, he is writing poems for his family and others, he is sketching as often as he can, and as exhausted as he is, that takes extraordinary commitment and focus.
He is in a hospital bed, on a catheter, and can no longer stand up. He is sleeping restlessly much of the day, the sweltering temperatures don’t help.
As Carol wrote on their blog, the Bejosh Farm Journal, this morning, his blood sugar was up over 600 in the morning, almost certainly the result of the steroids he is taking to reduce the swelling of the tumors in his brain.
Ed says his mind is clear. This morning, he wrote a poem for his daughter Maggie, and Carol put it up on the blog. The Bejosh Farm Journal has become central to the Gulley’s lives and Ed asked me if I would help the family keep it going after he was gone.
I said I would be happy to help, but the family doesn’t really need any assistance, the blog is vibrant and popular and Carol has evolved into a gifted writer. I am grateful to have her as a student in my writing class. When she came into the class, I kicked Ed out.
He understood, he said, he know he would distract her. Ed says if he has any regrets at all about his life, one is that he didn’t have more time to develop his art. This afternoon, he and Maria went over his sketches together, and I was touched by the great bond between them.
He was very eager to show her his art and hear her feedback. We have touched Ed’s lives and he has touched ours, and I am only beginning to sense the hole in my life that will soon come to be. Carol is brave and loving and warm, I know she will built a new and meaningful life for herself, I’m not sure that she knows that.
She loves to get messages, you can e-mail her a [email protected].
Loving the expression and form of this drawing.
There is a saying about death and the crow,when I read your post I thought of it “People once believed that when a person died,a crow carried their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes,sometimes so bad things happen that a terrible sadness is carried with it;and the soul can’t rest. Then sometimes,just sometimes,the crow can bring the soul back to make the wrong things right” Sara The Crow by James Obarr. I believe the crow will take Ed to the land of the dead. I also believe that even though Ed’s death is terrible and sad,that he will rest in the land of the dead in peace and understanding. Death is easier when excepted rather than feared. Ed Gulley is a great person,the salt of the earth, He is a throw back to the people who built this great country.A true American hero. I was raised by a farm and worked summers at it,I have nothing but respect for the small farmer. My father was like Ed he could do anything,fix anything,invent things. I am glad that Ed and Carol have so many friends and family to help them throw this. I have been throw it to many times and it is the hardest thing anyone will ever have to do. My prayers go out to Ed,carol and all the family. They go out to you and Maria too,as you will lose a special friend ,more than a friend a family member. God Bless you and keep you all. Yours Truly Steven King.