Mr. Howard Holman

My father lives vicariously through him. We all do.
He is a simple man who still knows the value of hard work.
You can see the years of labor on his hands, and you experience his joy in this work when he speaks to you.
He and his wife live in the farming lands of Lillian, AL.
He wakes up each morning in a place I would give my life to wake up in.

When I was growing up we always went down to my family’s house on Soldier Creek for any possible vacation allowed. When we would get there the water would be turned on, the lights and fans inside the house would be on and the curtains would be opened. We knew he had been there. We knew that little red pick-up truck had made its way down our road so we could start enjoying this land from the moment we arrived.

My father’s eye sight has weakened over the years, and he understands that. Our house is old and there is always something to repair when we visit. He knows that too. There have been many times he has selflessly left his family on holidays or weekends to help my father with what needs to be fixed, only so my father could enjoy his family. Selflessness.

Mr. Davis has a home down the road. He would visit Mr. Davis every morning, sit on the porch and enjoy a cup of coffee. The blackest coffee I can only imagine. They would share and understand each others ways and trials. They would silently watch the natural wonders of this land and know they have more than any other man could buy. Now Mr. Davis is gone and he sits with his son, Johnny. Johnny is a grown man with grown children of his own, but he still sits and he still shares those cups of coffee in the morning. He still understands.

When we heard of his illness, I cried. He is an older man and I understand it is his time, but he has so many more people to touch. If everyone could just have a minute with him, our world would be so different. My friends and acquaintances do not always understand my desire to live at Soldier Creek. There are no young couples, there are no night time venues, but there is an essence of him there. A person I want to become.

If I could live my life waking up at Soldier Creek, working my hands to the bone each day, and having those relationships with my community and their descendents, I would be the wealthiest woman alive. That is what he did. He lived, he loved, he gave and he understood.

Howard Holman passed away yesterday from a short fight with Cancer. They are a righteous family and do not want gifts, they do not want visitors. They simply wanted each other. Our prayers need to go out to his wife, Mrs. Holman. She is now without her love, without her heart. They lost a daughter a few years back to the same villain. There is nothing stronger than the power of prayer, and I give all of mine to her.