Birdhouse

A young man was walking through his grandfathers yard and was looking around when he noticed a birdhouse just placed in a tree, that was a curious thing because birdhouses was supposed to be nailed to the tree. He thought nothing more about it kept on with his walk later that evening the young man asked his grandfather about it. "Grandpa do you want me to nail that birdhouse to the tree tommarow for you won't take nothing at all." The old man looked at the young man and smiled "No just leave it be there's a reason for that you know." The grandson was curious so he asked "Well what reason grandpa?" The old man knew he had his attention; "Well when I was growing up my grandma your great great grandma used to put her birdhouses up like that she told me the story about when her father went off to war he built her a birdhouse before he went and sat the bird house in the tree instead of hanging it well someone hung it one day and she was angry stayed there ever since when her father came back home he asked why she never hung the birdhouse and she told him when someone hung it he got shot in the leg when it was back in the fork he was safe." The young man smiled to himself, "You know grandpa that's a good family tradition and a good story." Three years later the grandfather went to see his grandson off to war when he arrived at the house it was full of family and friends but his grandson made him for just him and they took a short walk together around the yard, "I've got something for you come with me." said the grandfather. He walked to his car and opened the door and got out the old birdfeeder, "It is new I just got done making it" He walked over to a small tree and placed it in the fork of a tree,"Now your safe, fight and come back home those are your jobs." The grandson understanding looked at his wife and looked at his grandfather and said. "Grandpa, tell Missy the story when she's having a hard time of it would you?" The grandfather looked at him and placed his hands on his shoulders, "I'm proud of you, following my footsteps in the military, so don't worry I'll keep it good here on the home front." Then the young man his mother father wife and grandfather went to the bus where the army was pulling out, once again they said thier good lucks and goodbye's and he was off. One night a hard wind blew through the three and blew the birdhouse out of the tree, the grandfather knew that the wind would blow it out so he went to his grandsons home and sure enough it was on the ground he picked it up and placed it back in the tree. Four years past and the grandson came home from war the first thing he looked for was the birdhouse when the grandfather now getting very elderly drove himself to see his grandson they greeted one another and started talking. "Only one time did the birdhouse fall out of the tree but I put it back in that fork at 2 in the morning I meant that much to me." Well the grandson knew what had happend. "Yeah Missy told me now are you ready for this, that same night my unit and I were pinned down in a bad spot and a ricochet bullet got me right on the back of the neck they said another two or three inches standing straight I wouldn't be alive but I had dropped something this picture." He showed him two photo's one of his wife next to the tree with the birdhouse and the birdhouse on it own. "The one I dropped was the one of the birdhouse on it's own if I hadn't leaned down to pick it up I wouldn't be alive."