![Dear Bill
Reading memoirs of your daughter my mother
Stories of how you broke a boxcar of broncs
and sent them on trained and tame
How at every school event
you would be the emcee
Would’ve loved being
there with you
and you living long enough
to be here with me
Hanging on the rail
while I ducked hooves
in the horse corral
and in the audience
of a poetry reading
joining in with the applause](https://i0.wp.com/www.neilmeili.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/To-a-Grandfather-Not-Met-1.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1)
Author’s grandfather with Baby (Uncle Bruce) on Silver. Author’s mother standing alongside – circa 1926
Author’s grandfather with Baby (Uncle Bruce) on Silver. Author’s mother standing alongside – circa 1926
According to the Farmer’s Almanac: “The June full Moon got the name “Strawberry Moon” from a number of North American native tribes, since the wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) reaches peak ripeness and is ready for harvesting in June. The berry is widespread throughout the lower 48 states, Canada, and Alaska, and is a popular and important spring edible as one of the earliest ripening berries.”
Great Uncle Tony and Uncle Werner at seeding time – a long time ago