Serendipity

 

Serendipity

It has been just over ten years since we started down the path to securing a bronze statue of Minnie Pearl, known by her Centerville friends and family as Ophelia Colley Cannon, for the square in her hometown.  At times, we almost despaired of raising the money it would take, but last Friday, May 7, here we were at the end of the journey.  The statue would arrive from the foundry and be installed in front of the old courthouse.  A few people would be there, along with local press and our own camera crew, but it was a casual, unprogrammed event, mainly because we didn’t need a crowd to get in the way of equipment and much of the parking would be unavailable.   But, as the morning unfolded, it was obvious that someone, somewhere had made some plans.  Serendipity is one of my favorite words – small, unexpected blessings that happen if you know where to look.   The morning was full of those small, unexpected blessings.

It was a beautiful morning in the midst of several rainy days.  A bright blue cloudless sky, a cool breeze, and golden sunshine beaming down in approval.  And there was Minnie Pearl, my great-aunt, on her bench, on the trailer, waiting patiently to be hoisted to her new home in front of the courthouse.

When I got out of the truck and walked over to the site we had chosen, one of the first people I noticed was my cousin Tommy.  Now, Tommy is not just any cousin.  He practically grew up on our farm, following my daddy everywhere he went as soon as he was big enough.  “What are you doing here?”  I asked.

He motioned at the big blue tractor sitting beside the trailer holding Minnie.  “I’m running the tractor,” he said with a grin.  Turns out, the man scheduled to operate the tractor that would put the statue into place had fallen ill.  He called Tommy’s boss, who sent him over to take his place.  I almost burst into tears – how great to have someone so close to the family to be involved in such an important way!  Serendipity.

There was quite a spell of standing around waiting, while Carl, the man from the foundry, measured, drilled, tested, measured again and prepared to secure the bench to the concrete.  As we stood around, someone said, “Look!”  There was a beautiful yellow butterfly sampling the clover, practically at our feet.  Yellow was my great aunt’s favorite color.  An unexpected blessing.  Serendipity.

Just a few minutes later, Jennifer, who is the talented sculptor who created the statue, reached down and picked a four leaf clover.  “Look,” she said.  “You know that I added a four leaf clover to Minnie’s hat at the last minute.  And here is a real one.”  Another blessing.  Serendipity.

Final preparations were finished and it was time for action.  Carl and Tommy worked out how to strap up the statue for the move from the trailer to the concrete pad and Tommy climbed aboard the tractor.  He hoisted Minnie into the air, backed into position and set her down in her spot as easily as you would set a pot on a stove eye.  We applauded and he climbed down with a grin.  Tommy doesn’t talk a lot but he has the cutest grin.

I was the first person to sit on the bench beside Minnie for a picture.  Then we all took turns.  The local newspaper editor, who just happened to be Tommy’s dad, conducted interviews, the local radio station streamed the process, and just like that, the result we had worked for was there, ready for visitors.

Visitors were not long in coming.  By the time we were finished fastening the bolts, people were driving by and staring at the statue.  I wish we had a counter to record how many people sat on the bench and had a picture made.  From the beginning, I wanted a statue that would be personal for people.  I wanted people to sit and visit and remember.  Most of all, I wanted children to sit there and learn who Minnie Pearl was and be inspired to make their dreams come true, just as a little girl named Ophelia Colley from a small town dreamed a dream of being in show business and made that dream come true.

Almost immediately, pictures began to appear on facebook.  And the last of the unexpected blessings appeared.  I was eating lunch and there on my phone screen was a cute little blonde headed girl, sitting beside Minnie with one little hand tucked in the crook of her arm, looking into her face as if listening to a story.  It could almost have been my great aunt herself, back around 1917 or so, a small blonde headed girl thinking about a future that would eventually take her around the world and into the hearts of millions of fans. That was a blessing in itself, but when I realized who the little girl was, tears came into my eyes.  Tallulah is the great-granddaughter of one of Ophelia’s great friends from her past in Centerville, one of a group of bridge friends who continued to get together for years after Ophelia moved away from her hometown.  I was told that she had been with her uncle to sign up for kindergarten that morning and they stopped on the square for lunch.  They thought they were just coming for a burger to celebrate a milestone, but I know what brought them to that particular place at that particular time.  Serendipity.

Thanks to Mandy Blocker King, Hickman County Chamber of Commerce, for the great photographs!