Hero Interview for Love Finds You in Calico, California

This week I’m hosting Darlene Franklin with Prodigal Patriot, Elizabeth Ludwig with Love Finds You in Calico, California and Carla Stewart with Chasing Lilacs. If you want to enter the drawings, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (July 18th) evening.

Hero Interview from Love Finds You in Calico, California by Elizabeth Ludwig:

1. Nathan, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

Hello, ma’am. Thank you for having me on your. . .blog. Did I say that right? We sure never had anything like that in Calico. Our media consisted of a little old paper called “The Calico Press.” I brought along a copy of it, in case you wanted to take a looksie at the doings in a mining town.

As for your question. . .well, don’t know as I can say there’s anything about me that folks would find interesting. . .other than the fact that I’m a widower, raising my daughter by myself. Come to think of it, Lizzie—that’s my daughter—does make my life interesting and wonderful. Without her, I don’t reckon there would be much to say about me. Don’t figure I would have cared much about livin’ after my wife died if it hadn’t been for Lizzie.

2. What do you do for fun?

Spendin’ time with Lizzie is about the one thing. . .the only thing. . .I let myself do just because I like it. Well. . .and you’ll pardon my red face, ma’am. . .I guess I should clarify and say spending time with Lizzie used to be the only thing I did for fun. Now, spending time with Abigail is just as important. I guess you could say she and I married out of necessity, but that sure isn’t the way of it anymore. Keeping my new bride happy sure makes for a fun day.

3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?

A man’s work doesn’t wait, ma’am, especially in a hard town like Calico. There ain’t much that can be put off, not for long anyway. Still, I sure ain’t never liked having to scold Lizzie. See, she hasn’t had the benefit of a momma, so poor substitute that I am, I’ve had to take up where my wife left off. That ain’t easy, especially when it comes to caring for a little girl’s feelings.

4. What are you afraid of most in life?

Well. . .uh. . .that’s a hard question. It ain’t easy for a man to admit to being afraid of anything. But. . .I guess I’ve had to come to grips recently with the fear of losing my family. Of. . .losing Abigail.

See, I’ve always sort of blamed myself for my first wife’s death. She never wanted to move west. That was my idea. So when the consumption took her. . .well, her passing left some deep scars. I’m learning to trust the Lord with my loved ones, but I gotta confess, it ain’t easy.

5. What do you want out of life?

I reckon that would be what every man wants—a wife, family. A good, solid house to come home to. Oh, and nowadays, I’ve been wanting to make my peace with God a little more than I used to.

6. What is the most important thing to you?

For sure, Lizzie and Abigail are the most important things/people in my life. Keeping them safe means everything.

7. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?

Other than the Good Book, I ain’t got much time for reading, though I do pick up “The Calico Press” from time to time, just to see what’s happening in other parts of the world.

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

That’s kind of a funny question, seeing as how we’re all exactly how God intended us. But, I guess if I could step in and do the work of the Lord, I would change my stubborn streak—make me less like a mule.

9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

Pets? No, ma’am, we ain’t got a pet. . .unless you count Charlie. He’s one of the mules the mining company uses to drag ore to the stamp mill. Ornery old thing, but Lizzie loves him. Reckon I do, too, if I were honest.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

Well. . .I reckon if you’d asked me that question a few months ago, I would have said I would go back to the day I talked my first wife into moving West. I sure enough have lived with regret over that decision.

Now, however, I realize that if I were to go back and change that course, I never would have met Abigail. Painful as the road has been, getting to this point has not only brought me to love and faith in her, it’s brought me to love and faith in God. The way I figure it, that is something I would never change.