As a small boy growing up on my parents farm I would pray for rain during the time we were working in the fields chopping or hoeing cotton and corn so it would be too muddy to work at those jobs. I hoped as always to go fishing with mom. Then when the crops were laid by in early July the work changed to cutting wood for the winter months ahead. We used and ole two man cross cut saw to fell the trees and cut the sticks of wood to the length of 23. Then we would split each stick of wood sometimes into several pieces, then haul it all to the house and stack the cut sticks of wood into several rows. That went on everyday except Sunday until we were finished. Dad always said we would get several heats out of wood cutting and one more during the winter when we burning that wood in the fireplace for heat. One winter morning dad had a roaring fire going in the fireplace, mom was cooking and I was warming my backside to the fire when suddenly a big piece of fire rolled out on the linoleum covered floor. I grabbed the poker and pushed it back on the hearth. Several more pieces of fire fell out of the chimney and rolled onto the floor and I yelled for mom and dad. The came in a rush and helped sweep those coals of fire back. Suddenly a loud roar started in the chimney and fire was falling everywhere. The soot in the chimney had caught fire. Mom screamed the HOUSE IS GONNA BURN DOWN. She grabbed a broom and started sweeping fire back on the hearth. Dad and I ran outside where fire was rolling off the roof onto the ground. I looked at the chimney and flames were shooting at least 3 above it and that chimney was roaring like a son-of-a-gun. The grass in the yard caught fire and we were fighting that too. Finally it was over, the house was saved and the grass fire was put out. Mom was still scared as was I, but dad calmly tamped his pipe, lit it and said, I always clean the chimney each Fall but I failed too this year, but Ill bet its clean now. I thought mom would stab him with his own butcher knife. (not really) Yall have a blessed day.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 11:44:56 +0000
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