where am I, and how did I get here

From Four Seasons in Five Senses by David Mas Masumoto

"Once, I stopped a widow after hearing a deeply moving, personal tale of their family farm and the late farmer's ties to the land - emotions rarely expressed nor seen by the family. After a pause, she whispered, "This place... it was his baby."
I stopped and said, "I know your children, they've left the farm. But you shouldn't be telling me these stories. You should tell your children. They need to know."
Her eyes were glassy; she rubbed together her rough, dry hands, which had been quietly folded in her lap. Then she quickly answered, "Aren't you trying to be a writer?" Her hands stopped. "You tell them for me." Then she gently smiled; I swear it looked more like a grin.
I returned to the farm to hear stories. The widow's words became inspiration and simultaneously a "burden of tradition" one generation passes on to another. Here on the farm, voices fromt the past live in the present."