 If anybody knows my dad's side of the family you'll know that they're all big outdoorsman. It doesn't take long to figure it out either, as at least one of them will be wearing some kind of camouflage or talking about hunting or fishing. At any given moment on any given day this is a guarantee. And if you ask either my dad or his two brothers, Neil and Mike, what they're fondest memories of childhood are they'd all tell you the same thing - going down to "The Country".
This is the nickname given to the family farmhouse where my grandmother was raised. It sits on a small amount of land on the outskirts of the town of Cambridge, MD, out on the swampy flatlands where the smell of marsh never leaves the air. This is where they'd all go together with they're dad (my grandfather) and hunt, fish and anything else they could get themselves into. Now myself, I'm not a hunter. The pencil and the paper is where I've always gravitated. But you can easily see the positive affects this place has left on the Draper brothers. You can see it in their eyes and hear it in the tone of their voice as they perk up with excitement whenever the topic comes up. This is one of the reasons I'm happy to be part of an ongoing series of short stories written by my uncle, Michael Draper, as he briefly recalls the memories of his own childhood experiences with my uncle Neil, my grandfather, my dad and all the other characters who were fortunate enough to spend time in "The County". I'll be doing an illustration for each story in the series, which will then be published alongside the story on my uncle's website. Above is the piece I came up with for the first installment, entitled "A Ride to The Country". If you'd like to read the story itself you can click right HERE. Hope you enjoy and I'll talk with you soon, - D
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