Mary and Harry lived in...
Illustration
Mary and Harry lived in a two-room house on a narrow and busy country road. Mary was a private nurse and Harry a disabled World War I veteran. They had little money, but what they had was shared generously with others, and the tiny house was always bright with laughter and love. The small yard with the picket fence reached out to the dirt road, and the gate was always open. The walking traveler was usually invited to sit on the porch and enjoy a glass of iced tea, or even to share a meal at the big handmade table in the kitchen-dining room. During the great depression of the 1930s, a nearby river became part of a flood control project and the construction included gondola-like baskets which transported workers across the river on cables stretched high above the water. The carriers became quite popular with adventurers and young men who searched for illegal thrill, and they occasionally attracted a more dangerous element of society, resulting in an increase of violence in the area. Mary and Harry were continually admonished by relatives and neighbors to curb their generosity to passing strangers, but these well-wishers were gently reproved by Mary. "Everything we have belongs to God, and all of us, including those strangers, are the children of God. How can we refuse to welcome our brothers and sisters to our house and table?" -- Byrd
