Tales of a Baby Boomer Cairo Days I am a native of Cairo, Georgia although I was born in nearby Thomasville. Cairo is famous for its syrup and pickles. The football team is the Syrupmakers. Two former Syrupmakers played for the University of Georgia Bulldogs and also went on to NFL fame. Distant cousin, Bobby Walden punted for the Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburg Steelers. Bill Stanfill was a lineman for the Miami Dolphins. Presently, J.J. Wilcox from the Georgia Southern Eagles plays for the Dallas Cowboys. Speaking of pickles, there was a stream that flowed by the boundary of our backyard. We called it the pickle stream. One day Tommy was playing in the stream and he fell cutting his nose. He yelled as he ran to the house. Beth and I began to cry, also. Mama got Daddy and we all went to the doctor. Mama sat in the car with Beth and me while Daddy took Tommy inside to get sewed up. Every time the doctor placed a stitch into Tommy’s nose, he would yell. Beth and I would yell, too. Tommy was that loud. For some reason, Tommy, some other boys, and I hung another kid from a limb overhanging the street. It didn’t kill him, but our maid, Mae Miller, called Mama. So much for backyard justice. Two boys across the street were also Johnsons, but a few years older than Tommy and me. One day we conducted a funeral for a drowned cat. I don’t remember if it was the same cat that Tommy and I had washed in the washing machine. That cat had scampered off once Mama raised the lid. I remember three incidents with cars. First, Mama had a head-on collision in town. Tommy and I flew from the back seat to the front seat. I hit the dashboard, and I still have a nice lump on my forehead. The second, Daddy told us to get out of the car when we arrived home. I did, but Tommy and Beth didn’t. Tommy left the driver’s door open while Beth placed the car out of the ‘Park’ position. I vividly remember the car rolling from the garage toward me. It got Daddy’s attention when that door was knocked off. Two people got a nice whipping. Speaking of whippings, the third incident involved Daddy telling us not to look in the back of the car at some particular item. Just as soon as he had warned us, we all three looked. Daddy removed his thick belt and commenced tearing Beth’s fanny up. Tommy and I began running. Daddy caught Tommy immediately. Tommy was never was too swift at foot. Daddy tore him up, too. I kept running and Daddy began to chase me around the outside of the house. I remember looking at Beth and Tommy crying each time I passed by them. On the third lap, I gave up. Daddy tore my little tail up…I’m glad I wore him down a little.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 11:34:20 +0000
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