<BGSOUND SRC="thedance2.mid" LOOP=INFINITE>
HE WAS BORN ON OCTOBER 24, 1986. I REMEMBER THAT DAY LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY. I WAS SIX YEARS OLD AT THE TIME MY BABY BROTHER WAS BORN; HELPING MY MOM TAKE CARE OF HIM WAS A GREAT HONOR. HIS NAME WAS ERNIE JAY MOBERLY. ALONG WITH HIM I HAVE TWO OTHER BROTHERS. WE HAD OUR GOOD TIMES AND THEN SOME BAD ONES, BUT WE LOVED EACH OTHER NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENDED. THROUGHOUT THE YEARS THE FOUR OF US WERE INSEPARABLE; WHERE THERE WAS ONE THERE WAS FOUR. PEOPLE WOULD SEE US AND SAY, "YEP, THERE GOES THEM MOBERLY BOYS." LOOKING BACK ON THOSE DAYS BRINGS BACK SOME GREAT MOMORIES. BUT THERE IS JUST ONE MEMORY THAT NONE OF US WILL EVER FORGET!
IT WAS JULY 3, 1999, I AWOKE THAT MORNING TO THE SOUNDS OF BIRDS SINGING AND THE SUN PEERING THORUGH THE WINDOW OF MY BASEMENT BEDROOM. I JUMPED OUT OF BED, YAWNED, COLLECTED MY EYESIGHT FROM THE LIGHT BULB IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM, AND WALKED TO THE BATHROOM TO TAKE A SHOWER AND GET READY FOR WORK. AFTER I GOT DRESSED I WALKED UP STAIRS AND JOINED THE REST OF MY FAMILY IN THE LIVING ROOM, MY MOM WAS STILL IN BED, BUT MY DAD, BROTHER KOLE AND BROTHER ERINE WERE WAITING FOR ME ON THE COUCH. SO, WE ALL WENT OUTSIDE AND PILED IN THE TRUCK TO HEAD FOR THE FIELD. IT WAS HARVEST TIME; WE HAD BEEN CUTTING WHEAT FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS AND WERE ABOUT TO WRAP THE WHEAT HARVEST UP. WE ONLY HAD A COUPLE OF FIELDS TO GO BEFORE WE WERE DONE. THE FIELD WE WERE GOING TO WAS LOCTED ABOUT  EIGHT MILES SOUTH OF OUR FARM ON ROAD G-23, A ROAD I WILL FOREVER REMEMBER!
WE ARRIVED AT THE FIELD OF UNCUT WHEAT AT ABOUT 8:00 A.M. THERE WE MEET MY GRANDDAD MERLE. I RAN THE L3 GLEANER COMBINE, MY GRANDDAD RAN THE JD9500 COMBINE, KOLE RAN THE GRAIN CART, MY DAD RAN THE SEMI, AND MY BROTHER ERNIE JUST WAS THERE TO HELP IN ANY WAY THAT HE COULD. I WALKED OVER TO MY COMBINE, CRAWLED UP THE ENGINE COMPARTMEMT, AND CKECKED THE OIL. MY LITTLE BROTHER ERNIE SAID TO ME. "HEY, HOW ARE YOU DOING ON FUEL, JOSH?" I TOLD HIM THAT I WAS ABOUT HALF FULL BUT WOULD NEED SOME LATER ON THIS AFTERNOON. HE JUST SHOOK HIS HEAD AND LAUGHTED. HE WALKED, OFF AND I CLIMBED INTO THE CAB AND FIRED THE ENGINE UP. I LET IT WARM UP FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES, FLIPPED A COUPLE OF SWITCHES, CHECKED THE HYDRAULICS, AND STARTED CUTTING WHEAT. THE DAYS IN THE HARVEST FIELD WERE PRETTY ROUTINE; YOU WOULD UN LOAD BIN FULL AFTER BIN FULL, GONG AROUND AND AROUND IN  A FIELD YOU THOUGHT WOULD NEVER BEGIN TO GET SMALLER.
THE MORNING OF THE THIRD WENT VERY FAST. BUT THE AFTERNOON WAS QUITE SLOW. ERNIE WENT BACK HOME AFTER I HAD TOLD HIM THAT HE COULDN'T RUN THE COMBINE THAT DAY BECAUSE THE WHEAT WE WERE CUTTING WAS DOWN, AND YOU REALLY HAD TO PAY ATTENTION WHAT YOU WERE DONING. HE JSUT SAID, "OKAY, BUT TOMORROW YOU BETTER LET ME RUN IT." I LAUGHED AND TOLD HIM THAT WOULD BE JUST FINE BY ME. SO, HE TOOK OFF FOR HOME , ONLY TO RETURN SHORTLY AFTER HE HAD LEFT. ERNIE AND MY GRANDDAD HAD A SHORT CONVERSATION OVER THE RADIO; THEY HAD DECIDED THAT WE ALL WOULD NEED DIESEL IN THE TRACTORS AND COMBINES AROUND 3:00 P.M. THEN HE LEFT AGAIN.
IT WAS ABOUT 2:30 P.M. WHEN THE AIR CONDITIONING BROKE DOWN IN MY COMBINE. ONE OF THE MECHANICS FROM VAN ALLAN'S, THE  LOCAL JOHN DEALERSHIP, HAD COME OUT TO FIX IT. HE HAD JUST GOT IT FIXED WHEN MY BROTHER ERNIE SHOWED BACK UP WITH THE FUEL TRUCK. HE PULLED UP TO MY COMBINE FIRST. HE FILLED IT WITH FUEL AND WENT TO THE NEXT ONE. HE GOT DONE FILLING EVERY THING WITH FUEL IN ABOUT THIRTY MINUTES. SO WE ALL SAT AROUND THE PICKUP AND TOOK A BREAK. ERNIE HAD ASKED ME IF I WANTED A PEPSI. I TOLD HIM THAT I WOULD LOVE ONE. SO HE WALKED UP TO ME WITH A BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE, KIND OF CHUCKLING AND SAID,"HERE YA GO, JOSH!" I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN SOMETHING WAS UP, BUT LIKE A FOOL I OPENDED THE POP ANYWAY. HE HAD SHOOK THE POP UP  THEREFORE SPRAYING ME WITH SODA; I'D LIKE TO KILL HIM, BUT JUST SMILED AND DRANK WHAT WAS LEFT OF THE PEPSI. WE ALL FINISHED OUR SNACKS AND WENT BACK TO WORK.. MY DAD HAD JUST LEFT FOR TOWN WITH A LOAD OF WHEAT WHEN ERNIE  HAD ASKED GRANDDAD IF HE COULD TAKE OFF WORK EARLY TO GO TO GOODLAND WITH MY MOM. GRANDDAD TOLD HIM THAT WOULD BE FINE, SO ERNIE LEFT THE FIELD TO GO BACK TO THE FARMHOUSE. NONE OF US EXPECTED THE EVENTS THAT WERE ABOUT TO HAPPEN IN THE NEXT 20 MINUTES
I WAS SITTING ON THE COMBINE, AND THE BIN WAS ABOUT HALF FULL, WHEN MY DAD CAME OVER THE RADIO AND ASKED,"HAS ANYONE SEEN ERINE?" DO YOU EVER GET THAT FEELING THAT SOMETHING JUST ISN'T RIGHT; I GOT THAT FEELING AFTER MY DAD SAID THOSE WORDS. SO I GOT ON THE RADIO AFTER A SHORT PAUSE AND SAD,"NO DAD, HE LEFT HERE ABOUT 20 MINUTES AGO, WHY IS SOMETHING WRONG?' "THE FUEL TRUCK IS IN THE DITCH AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEEN ROLLED!" MY HEART SANK, AND NOW I WAS WORRIED. I STOPPED THE COMBINE AND WAITED FOR MORE INFORMATION. MY DAD HAD TOLD US THAT HE WAS GOING TO BACK UP AND CHECK IT OUT. SO, WE COULD DO NOTHING BUT WAIT. HE CAME BACK ON THE RADIO AFTER A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND SAID TO ME. "JOSH GET ON YOUR CELL PHONE AND CALL 911, ERNIE ISN'T BREATHING, AND I CAN'T FIND A HEART BEAT!" AFTER I HEARD THE BAD NEWS  I REACHED FOR THE PHONE, DIALED, 911, AND THE OPERATOR CAME ON.
"911, WHATS YOUR EMERGENCY?"
I COULDN'T SPEAK AND BY NOW I WAS HYPERVENTILATING, SHE TOLD ME TO CLAM DOWN, JUST BREATH, IT WILL BE OKAY. I FINALLY COLLECTED MYSELF ENOUGH TO TALK. I SAID,"MY LITTLE 12 YEAR OLD BROTHER WAS IN AN ACCIDENT AND I THINK HE IS DEAD, SEND AN AMBULANCE!"
I DROVE THE COMBINE TO THE END OF THE FIELD WHERE I FOUND MY BROTHER KOLE SITTING IN THE PICKUP. I LOOKED AT HIM AND HE JUST IGNORED ME. WE WERE BOTH SHOCKED. THE ACCIDENT ONLY HAPPENED A 1/2 MILE FROM THE FIELD. AS I CAME TO A STOP, I THREW THE PICKUP IN PARK AND OPEND THE DOOR AT THE SAME TIME. I RAN TO MY DAD AND GRANDDAD. I ASKED THEM IF HE WAS OKAY. THEY BOTH SHOOK THEIR HEADS,"
NO,,,HE IS GONE,," THE WORDS I DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR!
THE HIGHWAY PATROLMAN SAID THAT HE WAS ONLY GOING 45MPH. THEY THOUGHT THAT HE HIT THE BRAKES FOR SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, LOST CONTROL AND ROLLEDTHE PICKUP 3 TIMES HE WAS THROWN, KILLING HIM INSTANTLY. TO THIS DAY I MISS HIM VERY MUCH, BUT AS SAD AS IT SEEMS, LIFE DOES GO ON. I FEEL THAT EVERYONE HAS A TIME TO GO. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE 90 OR 5 YEARS OF AGE; WHEN IT'S YOUR TIME THERE IS NOTHING AROUND IT. ERNIE IS IN A BETTER PLACE NOW AND LOOKING OVER HIS LOVE ONES. I FEEL HIS PRESENCE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, AND IT PUTS A SMILE ON MY FACE. BUT NO MATTER WHAT HE WILL ALWAYS BE IN MY HEART AND WILL NEVER, EVER BE FORGOTTEN

~~~~~~ERN'S BIG BROTHER JOSH~~~~~~~~
HOME

View My Guestbook
Sign My Guestbook
Poems
Pictures
Erns Friends in Heaven