I found this recently. It was written by a 14-year old boy, in 1991, as he recalled a memory from when he was 9 years old. I have copied it here, word-for-word...
TO UNDERSTAND my story thoroughly, you need a little bit of background. I spent a large part of my childhood in the farm state of Nebraska. One thing commonly seen in Nebraska is cane-bails. Cane-bails are huge, round, tightly rolled bundles of cane. They are made during the summer so the farmers can use it to feed the livestock during the winter, when everything is covered in snow. Each cane-bail is about five feet in diameter and 6 feet in height. When they are stacked they tend to make a castle that can be up to 18 feet high....
"SON, did you do this?!!" shouted my father as he discovered something I had done wrong. "It wasn't me, Dad...it was my brother."
"Now why would your brother do this? I want it cleaned up now!"
AFTER THE JOB was done I bolted out of my house with speed of lightning. I was running fast and hard, trampling the ground with each step being more powerful than the one before. When the run of about 200 yards was completed I finally reached my destination. As I clutched my knees with my hands and gasped for air, I pleaded my lungs and the air to restore my energy. I fell against one of the massive cane-bails and gazed out into the snow-glazed pasture as the sun set gently behind the horizon with a grace that was incomparable.
NOTHING WAS MORE relaxing and stress-relieving than this place on our farm in the heart of Nebraska. The snow acted as a plush carpet beneath my cold body. I snuggled into the cane. It acted as warm arms wrapping around me, comforting me in the hardest and most frustrating of times. I sat and thought often that this is what heaven looks like. Nothing but snow stretched as far as the eye could see. It clothed the ground perfectly, covering every weed, molding every stone, and providing an astonishing sight that would take anyone's breath away. This wasn't something to be associated with Santa's Workshop in the snow. This was something far greater. Greater than I (and I am sure, most people) can comprehend. An occasional deer would pass by with a fawn running furtively behind. They ran across the snow, galloping as if to music, as they stretched off beyond the point where I could see. I nestled further into the bail, feeling even more secure and invincible than before. New startling sights opened up as I changed position slightly. Now it was a scene of even more beauty. The sunlight still peeking over the horizon acted as a linen sheet of gold, lacing the entire blanket of snow. If only the world could be watching this. I did feel, though, that this was mine, and God had set this sight aside for me, and only me. A lump developed slowly in my throat as I gazed into the snow as if I were gazing into someone's eyes.
LOOKING UP at a tree, I watched the last leaf fly side to side for what seemed an endless amount of time, until it struck the snow delicately. Yet it was powerful the way it landed; Powerful in the sense that it had made an impact-- an impact on me, and anyone who has seen such a sight....there was this leaf, without a care in the world. It was only there to bring a sense of contentment and peace upon me. It was only there for me to see.
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