How Far Back- Memories are very strange and many of us cannot remember very far back into the early childhood days and some can’t find yesterday. Me, I sometimes think I am cursed with a memory of too much detail. Often times I can think back to the time I was 2 or 3 years of age. I cannot remember of when we lived at Gift after I was born, but I do remember the times we spent in West Corinth on the southeast corner from the school and directly across from Mr. Arthur and Callie Austin. We lived in a green brick house with a car port on the front. I can still see a little plastic doll I had in a pair of red pajamas and I took it many places but there was a cedar chest on the back porch, Mom often put on while she did ironing. I would shout over to Mrs. Callie, “Hi Mrs. Austin!” she would wave back and I was so happy. One day she came over to sit with Mom who had me in a kiddies’ pool while they shelled peas. I had not begun to talk at this time and the water was not but about 4” deep as I had just started to sit up well. I started to cry and yell which took them by surprise and they could not figure out what was wrong. As Mom came to my aid she found I was afraid of the ’snake’ in the water. It seems I had gone #2 in the pool and since I was wearing loose cloth diapers, it bobbed out and started to float on the water. Happily I gurgled until I saw this terrible unknown floating on the water. I was snatched to safety but I think I was marked for life as to this day I do not like snakes. Dad painted in the summer to make up for the way school used to pay and one day he came home for lunch in a yellow and red Coca-Cola truck (Those were the colors then). I knew what coke was and I can still remember asking him if he was going to work with coke. I was hoping so. I must have been going on 3 then as we were building the house at Holly. Mom came out and asked Dad what was he doing in a Coke truck and he told her he bought it. He was just joking but I can remember her comparing him to Uncle Boyd Elliott who often traded cars to Aunt Kate’s chagrin. Mom was sure worried about the money spent on the house and now trading trucks, what was Dad thinking. When he told her he was joking I saw her features lighten into her smile that I always knew. The next weekend we went to visit the folks back at Hightown and after seeing Bib Pop and Momma, we went down to Ma Sallie’s. There is where my ‘snake’ fear came back. I was outside playing around and went by her chicken coup attached to a shed. There was an old hubcap lying there and down in it was what looked like an orange snake. I ran like the wind asking for Momma. All thought I had seen something which looked like a snake but Ma. She said there was a chicken snake around there, but I has seen Jungle Jim and Tarzan, so it was a big boa. Dad drove me down the next weekend as he went to check on his mom, and I had seen the Highway Patrol Show with Broderick Crawford. I wanted to play like we were in a cop car not a 53 Ford. I was taking out the cigarette lighter which did not work and using it for a police radio. My constant pushing it in and out must have fixed it because soon I was yelling in pain with small concentric rings of red etched in my palm. Dad soon had me at Ma’s and administered first aid with cool well water and butter. I was very careful about playing radio from then on. As I passed three we moved into our new Brick house at Holly and I can still remember Mom’s guests as woman after woman came to see the house and they would have tea with Mom on the new porch in those tumblers with big yellow, red and green rings. Of course they would embarrass me as they had to say something to me, give me a buss, or twist my cheek off. Sometimes I would go out in the yard while they talked and I would find sardine cans were Mr. Gillontine and others had their lunch. When I was 12 and we moved after Dad died, I still could find a sardine can while gardening or mowing. To those who sometimes read what I write, this may not may much sense to them, but it does to me. I wonder if I thought what else I could remember. What do you remember? Well I do know that what these little memories all work to show me is that I had loving parents and a wonderful home life. We were not rich, but I thought so as we had such good and so many friends. We had what we needed and that often was more than enough. What I know above all is that I was loved. I sure do miss them all and those days gone by. I hope you had a good memory of your childhood as well. Mom and Dad you did a great job. I thank you!
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 16:43:36 +0000
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