Don Gould died on Friday, April 1, 2011, full of years and love. I went to tell the chipmunks, but they already knew. Here is my best Don Gould story, first told last April.
There are chipmunks in the yard. I’m glad of it, because after my neighbors Don and Audrey Gould moved, I was a little worried about the tiny critters. Don and Audrey had a whole chipmunk colony on their property. They didn’t name them or anything, you understand–they just fed them sunflower seeds and watched their antics and had a wonderful time.
I do not feed the chipmunks. It is all I can do to feed the Disreputable Duo, Miss Puss, and myself. The chipmunks must fend for themselves. But I am very glad that they seem to be managing.
I’m sure they miss the Goulds. One spring Audrey and I were having a cup of coffee when Don came in. He drank some coffee, and he mentioned that he’d seen some baby chipmunks. What? Well, yes, he said. He was out doing yardwork when one of the chipmunks started chattering at him. He tried to explain to the chipmunk that he had work to do, but the chipmunk wasn’t having a bit of it. Don must drop what he was doing and come with the chipmunk. OK. Off they went. When they got to the big stump in the yard, the chipmunk flitted beneath it. Don waited. Sure enough, pretty soon out came the chipmunk with the spring’s crop of little chipmunks in tow. The chipmunk made introductions, Don was duly impressed–his exact words were that the baby chipmunks were the cutest things he’d ever seen–and the little chipmunks were awed. That was the story. Audrey glared at him. You didn’t call me?!?
Off she and I went to pay a call on the chipmunks. We waited by the big stump, being quiet and polite. Busy chipmunks came and went. Pretty soon, out came the babies. They were, if not the very cutest things I have ever seen, pretty darned cute. It was the only time I ever saw baby chipmunks. Having the Goulds for neighbors was a great blessing in my life. How many people do you meet in this life who have that kind of cred with the chipmunk community?
There was, of course, a good deal more to Don Gould, beloved husband of Audrey, father of Sue. grandfather of Phil and Mark and oh joy great-grandfather of Leila. There was the veteran who saw hard duty in the Pacific during World War II, the wiry kid who came back a man who would never, for the rest of his life, be afraid of hard things. If it needed to be done, he simply set to work to do it. There was the storyteller with the glint in his eye, the quiet, gentle man with a gift for fixing things, including the broken places in other people. He was a good man.
Don and his beloved Audrey headed for a vacation in the U.P.
I think there is no better way to honor his memory than to get out in this place he loved and really look at it, just the way he did. So our little walk on Sunday has a new name: The Don Gould Memorial Walk. I have no idea what we’ll see, but all of it would have delighted him, and it will delight us. We will walk along the road past the chipmunk colony and through the woods, where we will see woodpecker excavations. Maybe we’ll hear them at work, too. And maybe, if we’re really lucky, we’ll see them swooping through the trees. I’ve been wanting to show you the photos Scott Thomas posted in A Hole in a Tree. The whole sequence is wonderful but the final one is something special.
See you Sunday April 10 at noon. Final route to be published later in the week.
Torch Lake Views 
P.j. grath
April 5, 2011
That’s a lovely tribute, Gerry. He sounds like quite a guy indeed to be able to charm chipmunks into bringing their babies out for an introduction! I know your walk will be a good one, too.
Gerry
April 5, 2011
Don was, indeed, an extraordinary man. He was also quite a leg-puller, and I suspected him of telling a tall tale right up until the moment Audrey and I saw the youngsters for ourselves.
Scott Thomas Photography
April 5, 2011
A man who speaks to chipmunks is okay in my book. I will think of him during my walk this weekend, too. Maybe a chipmunk will pay me a visit along the trail.
Gerry
April 5, 2011
I’m sure that you’ll see with an open heart and a sense of the wonder and humor of it all, just the way Don did. After all, a pileated woodpecker gave you a show!
Karma
April 5, 2011
This is a very sweet post, and a really nice idea to honor your friend. I hope you see some chipmunks – maybe even some babies. Or is it too early in the spring for babies? I bet you have some cred with the critters of the Torch Lake area.
Gerry
April 5, 2011
I have committed sweetness? Oh my. Don would never approve. I must tell some more Don Gould stories. Some of them are definitely tart. But even at his tartest he was a very good man.
Sybil
April 5, 2011
See you Sunday. I’ll be there walking with you. It could get a bit frustrating and slow as I’ll have to keep stopping to lift logs, peer myopically at bark and locate whatever is making that sound. My walks tend to be more of a ramble. Hope that’s OK.
Gerry
April 5, 2011
Works for me. Can’t help you lift the logs as my back won’t stand it anymore, but I will be curious about the sound too. Of course, should it turn cold again, I will most likely move along briskly. Miss Sadie, too. She does not enjoy being cold.
uphilldowndale
April 6, 2011
What a beautiful tribute Gerry, sounds like a special guy and what fitting way to remember
Gerry
April 6, 2011
He was, truly, a very special guy.
Fee
April 6, 2011
What a great way to be remembered – and I’m sure he will be, for a long time, by the sound of things. Mayhap a little chipmunk or two were waiting for him at the Rainbow Bridge, to chitter a warm welcome.
Gerry
April 6, 2011
In a way it’s ironic, Right into his eighties Don would climb onto the roof of their house to clear off the deep snow, but Audrey had to cajole him into a walk. He’d chuckle at the walk part, but he’d enjoy the view. He loved this place, and it loved him back.
flandrumhill
April 6, 2011
Of course the chipmunks already knew. I hope their chatter is a comfort to Audrey in the months ahead.
Gerry
April 6, 2011
Hi Amy! I felt a little silly doing it, but I’ve been reading so much 19th century material, and I can’t tell you how often I read about telling the bees that the beekeeeper had died. So I went over and did it. Talked to chipmunks. You’ll be relieved to know that they didn’t talk back. But they knew. They just looked at me and flicked their tails as if to say, “Well. Took you long enough.”
Dawn King
April 7, 2011
Lovely tribute. He sounds wonderful…and I’m SURE there were chipmunks waiting for him. Hugs to Audry. This will be tough on her, and you, and the community that knew and loved him. I will think of him on my walk Sunday as well and see if I can find anything truly special to share in his honor.
Gerry
April 7, 2011
It’s all special, isn’t it. The water, the trees, the sandy loam. It’s home.