Gò0dNews for Everyone
Life With Loretta
M
by Bill Fortenberry
y wife and I were watching Coal Miner’s Daughter
windowsill where my determined daughter had placed
when Autumn, our daughter, called to us.
celery sticks dipped in peanut butter.
“She came back!” she said. “Come here!”
Standing in our backyard was a brave and curious doe,
bearing the same distinctive white patches above each of her
We were careful not to feed her too often or too much, until mid-summer when our neighbor came to the door. Loretta has a broken leg, he told Autumn. It turns out
cloven hooves and a dark triangle on her face, the markings
that everyone in our neighborhood has taken to calling her
of a previous year’s visitor.
Loretta. Her leg was in bad shape, putting her off balance,
Autumn had tossed tomatoes, carrots, apples, and celery to her last year to gain her trust. Now, this gentle whitetail had returned.
especially when her fawns came for milk. In a world where only the fittest survive, Loretta and her fawns now needed us. And, truth be told we needed her.
“Well, hey there, Loretta,” I said. “Loretta?” Autumn
Loretta’s return brought joy and wonder to a world filled with hate and cynicism. Those things dissipate when Loretta comes to the backdoor. Her
asked. She didn’t care for
sudden, comical appearance
the name I had chosen,
never fails to bring a smile,
inspired by the pride of
even when we discover she
Butcher Holler.
has eaten all the blooms of
For the rest of that summer, Loretta would
the Black-eyed Susans. When work frustrations
come to our backyard and
became too much to bear,
stare intently toward the
Loretta was there, her
door as if to say, “Where’s
oats-covered nose making
the girl who feeds me?”
us laugh. When the delta-
By summer’s end, the
variant of COVID overfilled
beautiful russet doe was
our hospitals, we watched and listened as she crunched
coming to the patio for
carrots and celery sticks. And, when the stress of returning
treats, a welcome diversion
to college for her senior year was too much for Autumn,
in 2020. Her deep brown eyes brought a sense of calm and
Loretta stopped by, decimating the sunflower seeds in a
civility to a tumultuous year of racial strife, divisive politics,
nearby bird feeder.
and the first waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Loretta returned this spring, this time accompanied by
The fawns are now weaned. Autumn is back at college, and Loretta has begun to retreat. It’s as if she knows her girl
two spotted fawns, two yearlings—her offspring from the
isn’t home. Still, in those moments when life gets to be too
previous year—and, new to the mix, three bucks, antlers still
much, Loretta pops up, her round eyes staring directly at me.
covered in velvet. We purchased a mineral block, oats, and split peas to go
I think she’s a godsend, His gentle reminder to stay calm, be patient, and trust Him.
By the first day of summer, she was eating from Autumn’s hand, and she had learned to come to the
32 // October 2021
About The Author
along with the celery and carrots we knew Loretta favored.
Bill Fortenberry worked 17 years as a newspaper reporter, editor and columnist, and has worked in healthcare communications since 2001. Bill serves as the chairman of the board of managers of Haven Health Clinic for Women and is a men’s ministry leader and small group facilitator at his church, HBC Rome. He and his wife, Lisa, have two children, Ethan and Autumn. A storyteller at heart, Bill writes an occasional blog at kudzudad.blogspot.com.
