by Randy Willis

Joseph Willis and Ole Sally swimming the mighty Mississippi River at Natchez 1798

Backstory from the novel Three Winds Blowing by Randy Willis

✯ The wind of war fueled by slavery begins to blow. In a time of tradition and chivalry, Joseph Willis discovers his beloved Louisiana has changed. It is now a land of innocence lost.

✯ Frail Joseph Willis is 92. His much younger wife, Elvy, insists someone else care for him. As Christmas approaches, Joseph has not heard from her for nine months.

✯ Malachi Perkins is a white man who once saved Joseph’s life. He is Joseph’s trusted friend. Malachi falls in love with Miss Eliza, a person of color he buys to give her freedom. Her two small children, Randall and Emily, were sold separately from her on the same day. This happened at a New Orleans slave market years before. She has not seen them since. Malachi vows to find them.

✯ Joseph’s younger understudy, neighbor, and friend is William Price Ford. Ford buys two slaves at the New Orleans slave market. Ford buys Miss Eliza first, but her two children are already sold. Ford also buys a slave named Solomon Northup, a free man kidnapped from the North. After four years, Mr. Ford must sell Solomon and Miss Eliza due to financial problems. Solomon’s new owner is brutal and sadistic. Mr. Ford seeks Solomon’s freedom. Solomon would later write 12 Years a Slave.

✯ A Frenchman and former gunslinger, Theo Cormier now lives life according to the Bible Joseph gave him. Joseph was a friend of his father. Theo wishes to introduce Joseph to his bride, Miss Adelaide, and name their firstborn male after Joseph.

✯ Not only has Joseph outlived his contemporaries, but his mule Ole Sally has, too. Memories of them swimming the mighty Mississippi River flood Joseph’s mind decades before. Ole Sally is a “tad bit” cantankerous in her old age. Joseph whispers in her ear, “If there are white horses in Heaven they will need pack mules.” Ole Sally seems to understand.

Joseph Willis whispers in her ear, “If there are white horses in Heaven they will need pack mules.” Ole Sally seems to understand.

Christmas Day 1852

December 25, 1852, Longleaf, Louisiana Excerpted from Daniel Hubbard Willis, Jr’s Diary

Great-grandpa Joseph Willis relived much of his life in Louisiana during the wagon trip. It took place in October of 1852, from Evergreen to Longleaf. He poured out his heart to us. I discovered a joy in writing. I enjoyed keeping an account of all his stories.

Just when it seemed that no day in our family would ever top the 1845 Willis Feast of Thanksgiving—it did.

It all began the first time I saw a white Christmas. It was December 25, 1852, near Longleaf. The entire family was there. Each family member brought a decoration for our tree. The cedar was so big that we had to cut it down three times to get it inside the door. There were strings of popcorn, wooden figures, and sugared fruit. Paper dolls were cut out by the girls. We had gingerbread. Somebody even brought a bird’s nest.

We had ornaments that had meanings, too. A pine tree symbolizes eternity. Pinecones meant warmth. A teapot signified hospitality, which our family has always taught.

There were candy canes with the Good Shepherd’s crook. The white stripes represent the purity of Jesus and his virgin birth. The bold red stripes signify Christ’s shed blood. At the top of the tree was the star of Bethlehem made from a quilt. And the Christmas stockings stuffed with nuts, candy, and fruit hung on every available nail.

I’ll never forget the looks on my cousins’, brothers’, and sisters’ faces. Dolls, books, tablets, pencils, wooden soldiers, and even a rocking horse were unwrapped that happy morn. I got a new writing tablet that I started using to write this.

Christmas Day started with a few flurries, and everyone ran out to see the snow. Mother taught us to make something I’d never eaten before—ice cream. She showed us how to add milk, cream, butter, and eggs with the snow in a pewter pot. She had read that President Thomas Jefferson made ice cream with split vanilla beans. Imagine that!

Our traditional hot spiced cider warmed us from the cold. The smell of roasting chestnuts in Mama’s cast-iron skillet in the fireplace brought back precious memories of Christmas past.

As the flakes began to fall steadily, more guests arrived, including Mr. Cormier and Miss Adelaide. She was with child, due in a few months. Mr. Cormier told Great-Grandpa, “If the baby is a boy, we are gonna name him Joseph.” Great-grandpa’s face shone with an all-knowing peace. You could hear the excitement in their voices as Mr. and Mrs. Cormier brushed the snow off.

Mr. Malachi Perkins, Miss Eliza, Randall, and Emily came together. Malachi had located and bought the children out of slavery. Mr. Perkins approached Great-grandpa directly. He hugged him and said, “Pastor, we consider ourselves engaged. However, as you know, by Louisiana law, we can’t get married. We’ve fallen in love, and if it were legal, we’d be hitched already.” He hesitated, then went on, “We so want to do what’s right in the eyes of the Lord. I remember ya tellin’ me how your mama and daddy had a clandestine weddin’. I don’t want to bother ya on this special day. Could ya think about it in a few days? Then, let us know if ya’d perform our weddin’ ceremony?”

Great-grandpa took all of two seconds, grinned, and said, “Ain’t gotta think about it, Malachi. I’d be honored…if ya don’t mind if I do the ceremony sittin’ down. I’m a half-step slower than I used to be.” Everybody laughed. “Well, maybe a whole step or perhaps two.”

“Ya know, Pastor, ya could get in trouble for doin’ it!”

“Yes, I know, but I’m ninety-two, and my race here is almost run. What are they gonna do, shoot me? They already tried that when I was only knee-high to a grasshopper.”

The entire room seemed to be filled with sweet joy. We all cheered and clapped. Randall and Emily looked the happiest.

Great-grandpa motioned for me to come over. He whispered in a voice real low, “Quite a few folks are named after me now. If you ever have a son, Daniel, you should name him Randall, after Eliza’s son. You can even nickname ‘im Randy, if you so like. That way, our descendants will remember that miracle and share it with their children.”

We watched the storm bringing heavier snow, which seemed to be driven by a blue norther as our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Graham, arrived. And, yes, Julia Ann was with them. Great-grandfather asked to be helped to the barn to talk to his aged four-legged friend, Ole Sally.

He told her he had a gift for her—a mule blanket all the Willis women made. They made a matching blanket for Grandpa, too.

I listened to him, sweet-talk her in her ear. He thanked her for being a good friend and told her he could never have done it without ‘er. As Ole Sally leaned over Great-Grandpa kissed ‘er on the nose. She backed her ears, and he laughed, saying, “Aww, you know you like it.”

We assisted him back to the house, and I asked him to share his annual Christmas story again. Everyone gathered around the fireplace. He looked like he was doing what he loved best.

The wind was blowing the snow so hard we didn’t hear Mr. Ford arrive with Mr. and Mrs. Peter Tanner, the brother and sister-in-law of his late wife. Mr. Ford rushed through the door with a big smile, saying, “Looks like Solomon Northup will be freed on January 3rd. He’s gonna be a free man!” Again, everyone clapped and cheered and said praise the Lord.

Great-grandpa’s heart was full of joy. Mine, too! He beamed, saying, “I don’t see how a Christmas could get any better than this.”

He’d started to tell the Christmas story when there was a knock at the door. I jumped up to answer the door. There stood a snow-covered, half-frozen woman in a green hooded cape. Her hair was all wet and matted. All of a sudden, I recognized her—and so did everyone else. There were a few gasps and then lots of hugs. Great-grandpa couldn’t see very well, as his eyes were dimmed by age. He asked, “Who’s that? Who’s here?”

She put her finger up to her lips to keep everyone silent. No one said a word as she approached Great-grandpa, hugged him, and said, “Merry Christmas, Pastor Joseph Willis. I love you with all my heart.”

His eyes glistened as he pulled her to himself and said, “I love you even more, Miss Elvy Willis. Welcome home! I’ve saved a place beside me for ya. You’re just in time to hear my favorite Christmas story for the hundredth time.

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Joseph Willis’s annual Christmas Story

“He was born in a little-known village. He was fetched up in another community where people said nothing good would ever come from. He worked with his hands in a carpenter shop until he was thirty. After that, he traveled as a country preacher for three years.

“He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never commanded an army. He never owned a home. He never went to college. He never traveled more than a hundred miles from where he was born.

“He was rejected by the religious folk of the day. While he was still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. One friend denied him. Another betrayed him. Few understood him. Many even hated him.

“He was betrayed for a few coins and turned over to his enemies. He experienced the mockery of a trial. He was beaten. His beard was plucked out, and he was spit upon. A razor-sharp crown of thorns was pressed into his head. Afterward, he was nailed to two rugged pieces of a tree. This cross was rightfully prepared for a notorious criminal named Barabbas. The country preacher was lifted on the tree in agony between two thieves. His executors gambled for his only possession—his cloak.

“His blood flowed down the cross into the ground. By then, most of his friends had abandoned him. When he died, he was laid in a borrowed grave. Then, on the following Sunday mornin’, he rose from the dead. Nothing has ever been the same since.

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“As we look back across eighteen hundred years, we examine the evidence and sum up his influence. We must conclude that all the armies that ever marched have not had the influence on mankind as him. All the ships that ever sailed have not had such an impact. All the governments that ever sat have not. All the kings that ever reigned did not either.

Our great nation’s presidents combined have not. This Country Preacher has had an unparalleled influence through the ages. His influence extends to this Christmas Day in which we celebrate his birth!”

Not a sound was heard ‘til Great-grandpa said, “Merry Christmas, everyone!”

I got a stirring in my heart and started singing, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”

Great-grandpa and Miss Elvy joined in: “Let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare Him room….”

Finally, everyone was singing. “And Heaven and nature sing, and Heaven and nature sing, and Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

“Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!”

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! Randy Willis

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The most famous 25 words ever written: “For God so loved the world. He gave His only begotten Son. Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

If these words are how you feel in your heart, then pray:

“Heavenly Father,

I pray to You, asking for the forgiveness of my sins.

I confess with my mouth. I believe with my heart that Jesus is Your Son. He died on the cross at Calvary, so I might be forgiven.

Father, I believe that Jesus rose from the dead. I ask Jesus to come into my life as my personal Lord and Savior.

I turn from my sins and will surrender to your will throughout my life.

Your word is truth. I confess with my mouth that I am born again. I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus!

In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!”

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#randywillis #aaronwillis #adamwillis #joshwillis #corbinwillis #bayleewillis #presleywillis #oliviawillis #juliettewillis #violetwillis #alanawillis #jessahwillis

Excerpted from Three Winds Blowing by Randy Willis

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