Image by Deborah Kruse from Pixabay
Mrs. Velma Stepforth adored her little neighbor, five-year-old Robert Edward Ludlow III – of course he was little and cute like all his six siblings, all under 12 years old, but the spirit of his grandfather and “twin” Robert Edward Ludlow Sr. indeed had its twin in Lil' Robert, and that little mind and mouth was just working with it all. No situation was beyond him having an explanation, including why he was not wearing trousers at the moment. The conversation was coming right through the screen door, because there was nothing little about Lil' Robert's voice.
“I heard them singing 'Just As I am' in church last week and said, that's it, because, see, Andrew and George keep talking about boxers or briefs and I don't have to do any of that, see, because, I'm fine the way I am!”
Mrs. Stepforth also loved to see how Col. H.F. Lee, a man whose Army nickname was “Angel of Death,” majored on his angelic side, including using his glorious tenor voice, when working with his little Ludlow cousins.
“So you think that hymn says, 'Just as I am, without underwear/And in the lawn church, no one will care!”
“I knew you knew the song, Cousin Harry, because, see, we're smart!”
“Yes, we are, Robert, and we're so smart we're going to double-check what the hymn says before going out to the Good Neighbors Fellowship.”
Fifteen minutes later, the colonel and his baby cousin appeared, each in their summer-suited Sunday best.
“Thanks for keeping me for getting sunburned, Cousin Harry, for no reason!”
“Any time, Robert – remember, even if a particular song doesn't say quite what we think it does, and even if we feel like there's no backup, sometimes we just don't have to do anything about fights we're not in.”
“But Andrew and George are my big brothers – if they're in the fight, so am I!”
“Andrew and George are going to be grounded on Monday. You're not. Get the picture, Robert?”
“Oh, well, because, see, when you say it that way, I get it, Cousin Harry, see, because, I'm not going for all that!”
“Because we're smart, Robert.”
“Yes, we are! We're real smart!”
“Yes, we are, Robert. No sunburn, no getting grounded – just let's go praise the Lord on the lawn!”
“Yeah! I'm gonna learn the songs today too!”
“And we'll keep checking them to make sure we get the right idea, because we're real smart.”
“Yeah!”