doing a good deed I thought

I Bought the House where I live now in 1964, there was only 5 more out here this side of Burns Nursing Home, and we have been here 46 years, and there is Houses everyiwhere now. I tell you there has been some trying Times in the last 46 Years, but I won't get into that.

anyhow one Evening in the summer I was Earing Supper and I saw a young Calf pass by the Porch, it wasn't very old because it was still Brown, there is a deep Holow behind my House and there was a Spring down there , and we had a Pump in it and that is where we got our Water, well the Calf went off down there, and in a Minute there was a Boy, I know their last Name but can't think now, anyhow he was about 7 , he opened the Screen Door and asked me if I would help him catch that Calf, well he went down that way and they both came up the hill and took off down the Road, J.R.Whitten had built a Lake down at the bottom of the Hill called Lake Leola and when I got done eating I got in the Car and drove down the Road.

got down to that lake and the Calf had jumped in the Lake and was Swimming across, J.R.Whitten had a house behind the Lake and he was down on the Bank on the other side, and he walked on Crutches and when the Calf got close to the Bank he got to waving a Crutch at it and it turned around and started swimming back across, meanwhile the Police had came by and stopped and Me and the Police and that Boy was standing over on the Road side.

I just thought, well this is where the little Calf Drowns, but it didn't , it Swam back across and got out on the Bank and it was really tired, so the Police helped us catch it.

I started to get into my Car and that little old Boy said "Mr would you take this Calf home for me" so I upped the Trunk lid and just picked it up and set it down in the trunk and shut the Lid.

well I knew where he lived, he had 2 or 3 Sisters and his Mama, the Old Woman had her Husband put in Prison about something, anyhow I got about a Block from the old House where they lived and the Boy said "this is far enough let me out Here", I told him "you just live right yonder". so I wheeled him up in front of the House and stopped and opened the Trunk and sat the Calf out.

the old Woman and the Girls were out on the Porch and she called him by his name and asked "Where did you get that Calf?" and he said "a Man gave it to me." I thought UH OOOO , me and the Police had helped him steal it. and they may just Eat it.

one of the Policemen was Tootie Akins so I called him and told him what happened, and he had known me all my life and he said "I know you wouldn't steal nothing like that".

I don't know anything else about what happened to the Calf, but the story got out at Work, I worked at U.S. Reduction in Russellville and they really had a time with that Story over there, I learned that it is best to keep quiet about some things.

I will try to do better

I will try to do better on keeping things in line, when Ya'll reach 76 Years old you will say, "I didn't know it would be like this" Everything in the World wrong with you, a lot of Aches and Pains, going to the Doctor, having Operations, have had 6 so far, that Fool that named them "The Golden Years" was off his Rocker, you do the best you can as long as you can and then you give it up.

I got back from the Army, Oh I would go with Girls but none I wanted to get interested in, There was two that worked at City Cafe in Russellville, I really wanted to go out with one but she already had a Boyfriend, so I went with the other one, we would Double Date, then after that when I would ask the one I wanted to date to go out, then she would say that she didn't go with her Friends Boyfriends.

I went with the second choice for about a year or longer, her People were Good People and finally the two that we were Double dating with decided they would get Married, so we messed around a little longer and just decided we would try it.

we got married on the 13thof November 1960 and I already had the House rented and She went with me and we bought the Furniture and two weeks later we got Married. I was 26 and she was 17, not hardly as bad as my Buddy who was 28 and 14. Back then all the Girls got married as quick as school was completed. and I didn't wan't one that was Divorced.

well Nov. 13th 2010 was our Golden Wedding Anniversary, we didn't get the first Little One until 2 years later, she was the Prettiest little thing I had ever seen, and two years later, here came another one, and she was Pretty as she could be too.

we wanted a Boy and we wanted one so bad that we would ask God to let us have a Boy, It worked for he sent us two Twin Boys, back then People didn't know how many and whether it was a Boy or Girl, you waited and was Surprized.

the Day they was born I was working the 11-7 Shift and it was Sunday May 12, Mothers Day, and I could have laid down on a Concrete Floor and have went to Sleep. She was already in the Hospital and I got over there as soon as I could Shower, and I wasn't there but a few Minutes until they came in and took her to the Delivery Room.

after they were gone I looked over at her bed and the Head was rolled most of the way up and I went over there and sat down and leaned back, and the next thing I knew that old Dr. shook me and said "I have never seen anything like this before in my Life" I had slept right through them being born, all you People who have worked the 11-7 shift know what I am talking about Don't you?

after awhile they came by with the Twins on a Gurney, and they were ruined, both of their Heads came to a sharp point at the back and the first thing I thought was "Heckle and Jeckyle" because of them very badly pointed Heads, and I asked the Nurse and she said that they would get round in a few Days and sure enough they did, and then we had two fine looking Boys to go with them two Girls.
We hadn't expected two and we only had one name, the next Day the Hospital wanted to know their names and we didn't have one yet, well we thought and thought but couldn't decide, the next day the nurse came by and wanted to know what we were going to name them and we didn't know, there was a woman in the other Bed and she said , Why don't you name them Jeff and Greg, we looked at each other and then one of us told the Nurse "Their Names are Jeff and Greg. and that settled that.
their Birthdays only comes around on Mother's Day on May 12th, every 17 Years.











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Another late entry

If I went back and added it to the early times back yonder People that have read it already wouldn't ever read it again.

this is about 5 or 6 years old, I was Scared to death of everything, they would tell me that there were Boogers in them Woods, and we did have some kind of Cat down there in a Den, don't know if it was a Bob Cat or what kind it was, but one day I heard that thing Hollering or whatever they do, anyhow in the Summertime them Cows wouldn't come up to the House for us to Milk them, so you know who got to go get them.

there was a Field over behind the Molasses Mill that they were in Grazing that evening late, and I had to go over there and get them and I was Scared to Death nearly, and all of a sudden I was walking along and Something Got Ahold of Me like Old Ray Stevens used to say, that like to have done me in.

Come to find out it was a pretty good sized Lizard and that thing came running down through there and right up my Back he went.

I got my Brother to bring that 16 Gague Shotgun back out there and one evening I took it with me and we had this Cow that she led a rebellion with the other cows and they were going to outrun me and go back, they didn't want to Walk all the way up there to be Milked, and She was far enough away that I didn't hurt her bad, but I just up and shot her with that Shotgun.

Boy they went to the House then, My Daddy asked, Did you Shoot that Cow? and I said yes Sir I sure did, but he didn't say anything else about it, she had Shot under the Skin, I think I had about #6 shot in it I could see a few Knots sticking up on her, after that when I would go get them they didn't cause any problem, they just went on so nice.

I want to insert this here

it is about the War and the Times back then.

everything was Rationed that you used and the Government put in place what was called OPA Ceiling Prices, in other words if a Store charged more than the OPA Ceiling Price they could find theirselves in a heap of Trouble, and they also gave everybody a Ration Book and it had coupons and they had Printed on them what you could get with it and how much,of course you had to pay for it , but they done that to keep Prices down, I suppose those People then were just as Greedy as they are Today, but if the Government told you something back then well you would do good if you paid attention to what they said,

anyhow most People would abide by what the Government would say, The average Person could buy 5 Gallons of Gas a Week , 1 Battery a Year, and 1 set of Tires a Year, that worked out pretty good for the average Man, because them mules didn't burn Gas and the Cars got 20 miles to a Gallon and we didn't have nowhere to go hardly, and if you was fortunate enough to have a Job at Reynolds there was some People named Stanley that had a Bus there at old Bethel and they would make three trips a day to Reynolds, to carry People to work and bring them Home after each Shift ended, we Called it the Work Bus and you paid to ride it, but I have forgot how much.

Then there was always the Black Market, you could always get stuff you needed but it would cost you more, it wasn't just the things that I named, it was everything that was rationed, one day Three of us Kids were walking down the Sidewalk in Leighton and there was a store that had Shortening, and this Man said he would give us a Quarter each to go in and get him 3 Cans, so we did, he gave us the Money to pay for it with and the Quarter for buying it for him. Back then a Quarter looked as big as a Wagon Wheel to me.
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After that the Brothers that ran the Bus built a Resturant right behind the Hospital in Sheffield called "The Woody mack", boy it was a popular Place, I think that it is still there, but I don't know what they call it now.

A little about Russellville

there was a little over 9000 People Lived here until they built a Chicken Plant and that thing has attracted Mexicans like Flies, they came over here and everytime one of them had a Baby our Government would put that Baby on Welfare, and they seen that they could make Money at the Chicken Plant and by Having Babies, got to where every Mexican woman would have 3 little ones following her and one in the Oven, so I don't have any Idea of the Population count of Russellville now.


we have always had a Vagrant, somebody that stayed on the Street all day every Day, looks like we are going to have to go somewhere else and try to get us one , I will tell you about this old Woman, I haven't mentioned my kids yet but I will tell you this one thing, there was this old Dried up Woman that Walked around Town all the Time with a Suitcase and my kids were little and they would ask me who she was? I would tell them that that was Delta Dawn, that song was Popular at that time and it fit perfectly so I would just say Thats Delta Dawn


we have also had Johnnie Wray, he was always out thumbing going somewhere, he would thumb to Muscle Shoals and then he would thumb back, he would Thumb you and if you didn't stop you could look in the rear View and he would be giving you the Bird, I heard one time that he would get at the red light at Mc Donalds and when cars would Stop for the light , he would just open the Door and get in one, he was in a Wreck and had a small Problem. He lived with his Sister, but I heard that She wouldn't let him stay there in Daytime and so he just Roamed from here to there all day long.


I was coming South from Muscle Shoals one Day and I looked over at a Bass Boat going North on the 4 lane and there sat Johnnie Wray in that Front seat of the Bass Boat with his legs crossed Puffing that Cigarette right along, the man pulling the Boat was making about 60MPH and Johnnie probably just crawled in at the Mc Donald Red Light. Johnnie got Sick and Died and we already had one to take his Place.


Bobby moved right in and never missed a Lick, he was in a little better shape than Johnnie was, Bobby always had a Big Beard for he never Shaved and I don't know if he ever got a Haircut or not,and he was so Brown from being out in the Sun that you couldn't tell if he ever Washed or not, Bobby didn't last too many Years until he Died, so we are Looking now.

Fluke got Married

Yeah he got Married and left me all alone by myself, he was 28 and married a Kid, she was 14, now that was robbing the Cradle, well that left me all by Myself and somewhere in here I was called to the Army, I got a letter from the Draft Board that said, Congradulations! your friends and Neighbors have chosen you to represent your Community in the United States Armed Forces, and give me a date to report, In other words "Hey sucker you are going to the Army and if you don't have yourself here on the Day we said, we will be out to get you."


well I went to Korea and stayed 14Months and 21 Days and finally got out of that Nasty Place, you never seen a Korean that was Fat at all, Rice won't make you Fat, I did learn one thing over there that I remember, I found out what Hog Tied meant, one day I saw this Korean Man on a Bicycle and he had a Pig laying on the Luggage carrier and he had that pig which would have weighed about 30 Pounds and he had it Tied so many ways that it couldn't move anything, but it was Squealing every Breath.


my Buddy that married the 14 year old, they were Married 31 years and raised two Boys, and he came from a Family that had Muscular Dystrophy and he Died at 59.

at last the Love bug bit me

I was Eighteen I think , had finished School and had that $.80 cent an hour Job, back then unless you knew whose Butt to Kiss you couldn't get a Job that Paid anything, .and I surely didn't know, one night me and Fluke was over at Gladys's, She was Kin, and she shared an Apartment with a Girl, they both worked at What is now Helen Keller Hospital and I was Smitten by that Girl, it finally got so bad that I would leave Home and Drive to Sheffield to take her out on a Date and I was in a Daze, I didn't remember when I would pass anywhere.

now when you are that Serious about one, usually that is the one to Marry, but there was that Eighty Cent an Hour Job, she worked as a Nurses Aid and I don't know how much that Paid, but I know now that Money don't Matter, you will make it somehow, when Cecil my Brother Married he is 88 now, and he was making $21.00 a Week and they Rented a Place on Atlanta ave in Shefffield and paid $10.00 Dollars a Month Rent for it and his wife didn't Work, let me rephrase that, She was a Housewife. and they made it fine, I reckon I was afraid of Responsibility, anyhow after about a Year and a half, she started seeing other People, like to have killed me because I was Tru-Loving her and I finally found out that I would take her out and Spend my Money and show her a good Time and would get her back to the apartment about Midnight and as soon as I was out of sight a Married man would pick her up so that was the end if that ,
She finally Married an old Boy, and when I was 40 years old one day I saw Her Obituary in the Times Daily
said that they were going to Bury her at Railroad Cemetary in Florence, never heard of that Cemetary but that is where she rests now.

December 7th, the Day the Japs Bombed Pearl Harbor

I had a chance back yonder to mention a few things that I will talk about but forgot to, they say that "A Mind is a terrible thing to waste, well us old People didn't waste ours, it is more like Worn out, we don't remember things like we are supposed to, I remember when FDR said that this day will live in Infamy, I have heard that the Japanese don't ever say anything about the Second World War or neither their History Books says anything about it. I don't blame them in a way. every country we tore up, we turned around and rebuilt it for them after the war was over, every Piece of Scrap iron was important, there was a truck came around about once a week and we would look for Scrap Iron to sell them to build tanks, Planes and such, we would even save used Razor Blades and throw them in , I remember they would Paint Signs on the Plants, one especially said "Loose Lips Sink Ships" then Harry Truman finally dropped the Bomb and ended it. but that War was a Whole Nation thing, the Government would supply the Yarn and Belle Richardson got all the Ladies in the Community together that could Knit and knitted Socks for the Soldiers to wear, for Free, I am sure the same thing was going on all over the country,

Winter was a Miserable Time back then, Houses were not like they are now, they were Cold and Shabby, I don't remember People Painting them, we would Whitewash ours, my daddy would get some Sacks of White Powder and we would put water in it until he said that it was alright and then rub it on with Some kind of a Brush, it was not a Paint Brush.

they would build Houses out of green Lumber and our floor was made of green Lumber and when it had time to dry out it would leave a Crack between the two Boards you could drop a Pencil through, we could see the Chickens under the floor, back then everybody woud have a Water bucket and a Dipper and if you wanted a Drink of Water you just went and took the Dipper and Dipped you some and drank it. in the Winter the Water Bucket would be in the Kitchen at night and the water would be Frozen the next Morning and you couldn't get the Dipper out until you thawed it out,





but one Day my daddy went to Iron City Tennessee and came back with a truck load of Hard Wood Flooring, we put that down and that helped a lot, Never did put a finish of any kind on it, but it kept the Wind out


Had as cheapest Heater you could Buy and we would sit around it with our Coat on and Burn on one side and freeze on the other.



Finally all of them got Married but Me and Fluke, we both had us a Car and Gas wasn't but 29 cents a Gallon, I remember when it was 20 cents a Gallon and you could get 5 Gallon for a dollar, there was a Store right on the Franklin Colbert and Lawrence county line that had one of those old Gas Pumps with the big Glass Bowl, and that Bowl would hold 10 Gallon, and to fill the Bowl it had a Handle you had to work back and forward, Cigarettes were 20 cents a Pack, I remember Phillip Morris, Lucky Strike,Camel, Chesterfield and Sunshine. back to where Gas was 29 cents a Gallon, I remember one Daiy a Man saying that Oil was $2.80 cents a Barrel.

Moonshine Whiskey Still

I don't suppose that any of you have seen a Moonshine Whiskey Still, I have seen four or Five out in the Woods only one was in Operation at the time and the others had been Destroyed, Probably didn't Pay the right Man so they would destroy them. there used to be one about a quarter mile over behind our House, they have to have plenty of running Water, some are bigger than the others, they would find a stream of water and then they needed a Bank and they would dig a Hole in the Bank to fit their Pot. their Pot was round, constructed out of pretty thick Tin. some wouldn't hold much but I saw one on the Bank of the Tennessee River that I figured would hold 1000 Gallons, it was a Big one, this is when Raymond Wheeler was Sheriff over there so they didn't have to worry about somebody messing with them. Here is the way I think that it worked,' they would fill that thing probably about half full of Mash, don't ask me what Mash was because I don't know, I think it was different kinds of Grain, all I ever heard was Mash, and then a lot of Water, and a whole lot of Sugar. after a few Days the stuff inside would begin to Ferment and I have no Idea how long that they let it Ferment, but they knew when the time was right, When everything was right they would build a Fire under the Pot and it had a Copper Tube that was twisted round and around and sometimes they would put these in a 55 Gallon Drum and they called it a Worm. they had cold Water running into the 55 gallon Drum to cool the worm, and they would build the Fire under the Pot and get the Pot Boiling it would make Steam. and the top of the Pot was to where the only place the Steam could go out was through these Copper Tube, (the Worm) and the cold water would cool the Steam coming through them and it turned the steam into a Liquid, thus Moonshine Whiskey, and they had their Gallon Jugs to catch the Liquid coming out of the end of the Copper Pipe and I think that that, was about like they worked, we never owned one but Like I say I have seen them and that is my version of how they work, you would run up on them out Hunting. Oh the Sheriff would find one and they were made with Tin, wide Sheets about like you use for Valley tin on the roof of the House, instead of light Sheet metal like I said, that made them Lighter to move, but the Sheriff and his Deputies would either take an ax and cut a lot of holes in the Pot or Dynamite it this is a True Story, I have been living in Russellville 46 Years and I have heard this Story and read it in the Newspaper, one Day the Sheriff and his Deputies came across this Still that they had working and this Man was sitting on top of it watching the Still and reading the Bible. all the People that I call their Name in this whole Blog are Dead many years ago, except my Immediate Family, I used to know people for miles around, but I can go back to the old home place and I don't know anybody, all them People aren't alive anymore, in fact just about everybody I used to know are not here anymore, as far as I know there is only 4 People besides myself that finished the 9Th Grade with me are still here. the reason they quit making Moon Shine Whiskey was back when we had the Supposedly Gas Shortage in the early 70's everyone else saw that if you would only create a Shortage you could name any Price you wanted to, and there for a good while Sugar went up a little over $4.00 for five Pound, so this done the Whiskey Business in, at the time they were making Moon Shine I think you could buy 5 pounds for 39 cents. so Sugar never did go back low enough for them to start back. the Shortage Bug even got into Jar Lids, my Wife and myself would have a Garden and Can Beans and stuff and behold right about canning time there was a Shortage if Jar Lids, but the Price started to rise and then when it reached the right place there was Plenty.

finishing up Jr High

Well I don't remember anything worth Writing about happening through the rest of Jr. High, by the way at La Grange we went thru the ninth Grade and after that we started the 10th Grade at Colbert County High.

But in the Ninth Grade we had a Basketball Team that nobody could beat, we had a Principal that was so Lazy you could tell it when he talked and he would teach the Ninth grade, and if any of us Boys got to where we couldn't stand it anymore we would just go in the Cloak room and get a Basketball and go outside and Shoot Basketball until we got tired and then we would come back to the Classroom and sit down and listen some more to that Jerk.

C.C. Smith wasn't too far over in Lawrence county and we would go over there Twice a Week and Play them. they would beat us most of the time, I knew all of them but one and they could run like Deer, everytime we went over there we came back dead tired from running so much, winning in Colbert County was what mattered and nobody over there could beat us, and we Won the County Tournament that year, I remember on Monday after we had won it Friday night we had the Trophy out passing it around looking at it and somebody dropped the thing and broke the Man with the Basketball off of it. boy that was a Bummer.

Funny the School Bus Driver and a teacher they had hired, she was kinda Plump always took us over there and once the Game started we never did notice seeing them anymore, but after awhile they would show up, and we went on and Graduated and the next year we all went to Colbert County and all five of us that played on the Great Basketball Team Didn't Pass.

well the other Four Quit and I decided I would give it one more try and I Passed that Year and went on and Played Varsity Basketball in High School, but you see these Bothers now will Jump so High that their Elbow is up even with the Rim? couldn't any off us even touch the Rim, that Food then just didn't any Jumping Power. White Men can't jump anyway.

I also Played in the Band, Boy I liked that, I played a Baritone and I got good on that Horn, we would play in Parades and we even went and Played in the Madi_Gras Parade in New Orleans, Sho Nuff, marched right down Canal Street and those Pralines sure did Smell good. I am not finished with this but I have to go to bed.

alright I got up and wrote my little Heart out and Posted the rest of it and I had lost my connectionand then it was gone, I hit restore and it restored up to where I quit last nightso Later

it's a wonder we all lived through it.

There were Six Boys and Six Girls, in our Family and how we all lived through it? I don't know, about all I ever remember taking for Meicine was Calimol Tablets, and if you had a sore or got cut it was Zinc-Oxide that is all my Daddy knew, if you were Sick he would say "that Boy is Billious, give him some Calimol Tablets, now what Billious was I have never found out yet, Calimol was a Pink Tablet and just to take it made you want to Gag, and I guess we might have had Paregoric, don't recall.

anyhow anybody could go to the Druggist there in Leighton and tell him what was hurting and He would give you some Medicine for your Ailment, he knew as much about it as the Doctor.

the Doctor used to come to your house to see you, I remember getting Pneumonia and the old Doctor would drive the 8 miles out there and give me a shot of Pennicillan, boy I hated to see him pull up out there I was going to get a shot, but it didn't take but three.

but way back before that I got Colitis, a lot of Little Babies would die from Colitis, they didn't know what to do for it, anyhow the Dr. would ride a Mule out there to see me then, this was before he got a Car, and I was Bad, and Mom had been cooking Cabbage that Day, and the old Dr. come up on his Mule and she told him that "this Baby has been crying for some of this Cabbage ever since I started cooking it " and he told her to give me some that I was going to die anyway.

so She gave me some and I started to getting better right away, I have thought about it a lot, that if there had not been any Cabbage I would be an Angel now, but I reckon God had a plan for me and he spared me, I haven't figured out what the plan was yet but maybe I have done performed what he wanted me to do and I just didn't know it.

One of my Sisters got her Clothes on Fire at the Fireplace and Burned her Hip pretty bad and the old Doctor would ride the Mule out there every day and he would make up some Medicine using Vaseline, Household Lime and Carbolic Acid and brush it on her with a Feather and it healed it up.

when I was working at U.S.Reduction I would get a place burned and I would make me up some of it and use it and one Day the Foreman asked me, Ed how do you get these Burns well so fast? I told him, and he said "well it sure is good".

At the End of the Road

there at the end of the Road that came out from where I lived and joined into Hwy 48 was a Busy little Place, everyones Mail Boxes from both sides of the Road were there and some of us had to walk a little over 1/4th Mile to get the Mail and to catch the School Bus.

there were I guess 8 or 10 Kids were out there every Morning to catch the School Bus, and there was this one Girl, she was a Moreland, that thought that she was really it, and she was, she was Pretty and had a nice build and she would Prance around while we were waiting on the Bus wanting attention, and I have mentioned before that I was very Bashful, so I didn't say anything to her unless she said something to me. anyhow she was Hot Stuff.

Years later I saw where her Mother died and was going to be at the Funeral Home here in Russellville, so I decided I would go to the "Visitation just to see Her, I hadn't seen her since we met the Bus on the side of the Road, I was in my early 40's I think and when I got there I didn't see her anywhere, so I asked where she was ? and they said that she was in another Room in there, and they went and told her that I wanted to see her and she came out and I was Shocked, she was Wrinkled until I wouldn't have known her If I had just met her not knowing that it was her, and to my knowledge I haven't seen her since.

at 76 I am not Wrinkled but very little, I tell People that I don't have enough Sense to worry abouth anything, I don't know whether that has anything to do with you Wrinkling or not, but there is very little that I worry about, I have seen People who I think are Professional Worreriers, it gets you nowhere, so why worry?

finally a Man that owned the Property there built a little Cinder Block Strore in the corner of the road, and he was making the Money. I should have mentioned this a lot earlier since this happened before I started to School, my Mother Loved me very much since I was her Baby, and she didn't have the Nickel for a Popsicle, so she would give me two Eggs and tell me to go to the Store and get me a Popsicle.

I would walk out to that little Store and go in and lay my two Eggs on the Counter and get me a Popsicle and go back down the road Happy as could be, I usually got a Chocolate Covered one, them was the best kind. those Mamas are Great, so if yours is still Living make sure she knows that you love her, because once She is gone you will wish you had.

A Mule named Ader

We had two mules and one of them was named Ader, we referred to as old Ader, well Ader was a good little Mule to Plow the Garden with, she would kind of do what you told her to, for most of you who don't know Mule talk I will tell you a little, you would say Giddup when you wanted them t go, Whoa when you wanted them to stop, and Gee if you wanted them to go to the right a little, and haw if you wanted them to move to the left, some Mules would do what you would tell them and others would act like Dummies and just kept Walking, Oh they all knew what Whoa meant, well you had lines that fastened on to two big Rings of the Bridle and the Lines reached back to where you were behind the Plow and if the just kept going you pulled on the line and the line fastened to the Big Rings on each side of the Mouth then there was what is called a Bit that went through the Mouth and the two big Rings were on each end of the Bit .

But Ader Obeyed good and everybody around would want to borrow old ader to Plow the Garden, so, every time we needed her my Daddy would tell me to go to Eli Glantons, or Cleve Stanleys or some of the other Neighbors and get Old Ader, Seemed like I spent a lot of time going to get our Mule.

well one Day it was Hot, in August and I was going to get the Mule and Wess South lived across on La Grange Road and Farmed the Land between him and Us and he had a Watermellon Patch and there was a Cornfield right by it and they were Ripe, now Wess south would have Give me 5 Watermellons if I had just ask but I Snuck down them Corn Rows and Stole me one, Bursted it there in the Corn Patch and it was Hot inside and I ate all the Watermellon I wanted, they taste better if you Steal them, so then I went on my way and got Old Ater and went Home

I think I have learned something

you know in 2 more Months I will be 77 Years Old and it is terribly hard for something new to soak into this Grey Matter that I have between my Ears, you see I didn't know a thing about a Blog, so my son Engineeredgarden, said why didn't I write all I could remember about my Childhood where all the Kids and Grand Kids could read it if they wanted to, and I am Retired with nothing to do so I decided to give it a try, He Lives right next to me and they say you can't live by your Parents and get along with each other, but we do, I have had both Knees replaced and still have to use a Cane to Walk, it keeps me up off of the Ground, I tell you that falling hurts, and I can take my Cane and touch his Porch from my Porch, so we never have any Trouble, anyhow I was putting a Number by the Title of my Post where anybody would know which one to read next and he would remove the Number, so tonight I noticed over there on the side where it lists the Posts it tells the Day of the month they were Posted, and I thought AHA! so that is the way you tell which one to read next, since I was trying to tell a story and keep the posts straight, Smart as the average Bear I think, I will get back to the School days maybe Tomorrow.

starting to School

Well I finally got old enough to go to School, and I remember my first Day very well, it was all I could do to keep from Crying, some of the Kids did but I was determined that I wasn't going to Cry, my First Grade Teacher was Mrs Neal, I liked her alright, I had a Second Cousin that was in the same Grade with me, he was nearly a year older than I was and his Name was Edward Oneal Vandiver and when I was born my Mama said nothing would do but I was going to be named Edward Keith Vandiver, this was my daddy's Idea.

well when I was two Weeks old all the Clan went to La Grange School to a Play and there was a Character in that Play named Punkie Dunk, well my sister Ruby got to calling me that, and it finally boiled down to Punk and when I got Married and moved to Russellville I got away from that terrible Name almost, nobody around where I was raised even knew what my real name was, and the other Edward Oneal Vandiver, somebody hung Fluke on Him and he was Kin to the Harrisons and they had a boy older than us two and somebody had hung Flop on him, so it was Fluke, Punk and Flop,

I live in Russellville now and every once in a while I will hear somevbody say "Hey Punk"! and I know without looking that it is somebody from down at Old Bethel, Flop and Fluke are both Dead and I know Punk will pop up every once in awhile till I die, I know how that boy felt in the song Johny Cash wrote "Boy named Sue".

in the 3rd or 4th Grade I had a Teacher named Gussie Keenum, and she was an Artist with a Paddle, Boy when she Whipped you, you knew that you had been Whipped, having no Kids of her own I believe she enjoyed it, one Day it had Rained and there were some Big Puddles of Water, so I caught Maxine Hall and Edith Waldrep passing one of them Mud Holes and I ran and jumped in it with Both Feet, this got muddy Water on their Dresses and they made a B-line to Gussie Keenum, and she had me to go in the Cloak Room and I had to get up in an old Desk to see out the Window and she made me show her the Puddle I jumped in and then she Lit up my Life, Man that hurt, I can still remember how it hurt, A Teacher Whip a Kid Today like that and they would go to Jail, I'm not saying I didn't need it but not that Hard.

I was in the Army and Home on Furlough, and one Evening I was Passing her House and Her andCheck (that was her Husbands Name) were sitting out on the Front Porch , and I just Wheeled my Car in the Driveway and spoke to them and told her "well I have come to get even with you for all them Whippings that you used to give me". I had her worried too, then I laughed and She knew I was Kidding.



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