Posted: 3/15/2013 4:13:45 AM EDT
|
Five miles through four feet of snow, uphill both ways
Carrying a tuba. But I didn't complain because my kid brother played the piano. |
|
My father (God rest his soul) used to always tell us how he had to pick cotton for 50 cents a day, and when he was done, he had to give that money to his Dad.
I asked my now 92 year old aunt about that a couple years back. She said "I never saw your Dad pick any cotton." Now, Dad was born in 1929, right at the start of the Great Depression, and I am sure times were not easy. But he embellished it a good bit according to my aunt. They had a little bit of property, some cattle, chickens, a garden. Like everyone else, they did what they needed to survive. LC |
|
East coast here. Grandpa used to tell me that same one. Whenever family was around I'd get the "How's school?" As soon as I spoke Grandpop would bust out the story of his youth and the relatives would chime in. By the time I was old enough to know better it was ten miles, uphill both ways, through the snow, school was year 'round, it snowed in August back then and Grandpa didn't get his first shoes until he was 16. Oh, and he had to hump a rifle and his daddy only gave him one bullet per day. If he failed to bag supper he got beat. I had an interesting childhood. One day I'll put together a solid story about Grandpa. He ran a guy over when he was 16. Didn't speak English. Got put on trial for murder. Has a mountain named after him and went on to be Mayor of the town I grew up in. He was equally the most loved man in town as well as the most hated. Ps. I always remeber 3 things about him. He ALWAYS had a beer in his hand or close by. (He NEVER drank until he retired) He always wore a Levi's demin jacket. (No mater the season or the weather) And he always wore a sea captain's hat. ( He never even owned a boat) |
|
Quoted:
East coast here. Grandpa used to tell me that same one. Whenever family was around I'd get the "How's school?" As soon as I spoke Grandpop would bust out the story of his youth and the relatives would chime in. By the time I was old enough to know better it was ten miles, uphill both ways, through the snow, school was year 'round, it snowed in August back then and Grandpa didn't get his first shoes until he was 16. Oh, and he had to hump a rifle and his daddy only gave him one bullet per day. If he failed to bag supper he got beat. I had an interesting childhood. One day I'll put together a solid story about Grandpa. He ran a guy over when he was 16. Didn't speak English. Got put on trial for murder. Has a mountain named after him and went on to be Mayor of the town I grew up in. He was equally the most loved man in town as well as the most hated. Ps. I always remeber 3 things about him. He ALWAYS had a beer in his hand or close by. (He NEVER drank until he retired) He always wore a Levi's demin jacket. (No mater the season or the weather) And he always wore a sea captain's hat. ( He never even owned a boat) Get busy! |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
East coast here. Grandpa used to tell me that same one. Whenever family was around I'd get the "How's school?" As soon as I spoke Grandpop would bust out the story of his youth and the relatives would chime in. By the time I was old enough to know better it was ten miles, uphill both ways, through the snow, school was year 'round, it snowed in August back then and Grandpa didn't get his first shoes until he was 16. Oh, and he had to hump a rifle and his daddy only gave him one bullet per day. If he failed to bag supper he got beat. I had an interesting childhood. One day I'll put together a solid story about Grandpa. He ran a guy over when he was 16. Didn't speak English. Got put on trial for murder. Has a mountain named after him and went on to be Mayor of the town I grew up in. He was equally the most loved man in town as well as the most hated. Ps. I always remeber 3 things about him. He ALWAYS had a beer in his hand or close by. (He NEVER drank until he retired) He always wore a Levi's demin jacket. (No mater the season or the weather) And he always wore a sea captain's hat. ( He never even owned a boat) Get busy! Yeah. Get busy. I could use a day off. 
|
|
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: East coast here. Grandpa used to tell me that same one. Whenever family was around I'd get the "How's school?" As soon as I spoke Grandpop would bust out the story of his youth and the relatives would chime in. By the time I was old enough to know better it was ten miles, uphill both ways, through the snow, school was year 'round, it snowed in August back then and Grandpa didn't get his first shoes until he was 16. Oh, and he had to hump a rifle and his daddy only gave him one bullet per day. If he failed to bag supper he got beat. I had an interesting childhood. One day I'll put together a solid story about Grandpa. He ran a guy over when he was 16. Didn't speak English. Got put on trial for murder. Has a mountain named after him and went on to be Mayor of the town I grew up in. He was equally the most loved man in town as well as the most hated. Ps. I always remeber 3 things about him. He ALWAYS had a beer in his hand or close by. (He NEVER drank until he retired) He always wore a Levi's demin jacket. (No mater the season or the weather) And he always wore a sea captain's hat. ( He never even owned a boat) Get busy! Yeah. Get busy. I could use a day off. I write well, or so I'm told. You Pic, knock it out of the park pretty much everytime you step up to the plate. I'd love to have a beer with you one day. You actually remind me of grandpa more than anyone I know. I gotta really sit down and look into it. Granpa passed more than 20 years ago. I was 25 or less in age. He was for the last 25 years of his life a Gypsy. He had a heart attack ot 50, retired and bought a motor home. My memories are sketchy at best. He and grandma showed up for a few months each year. My Mother loved gramps. My Dad was sometimes at odds with him. My uncle and aunt as well. That being said, you can guess each story carries a slant to it depending on who's telling it. My aunt was a stunning beauty. I have heard it said that she was a model. When my folks got divorced I moved about 50 miles from my hometown. My first day of high school my english teacher asked me my name. When I told him my last name he recognized it and asked if I was related to XXXXX. I said yes and he quickly asked what had become of her, if she was married ect. I was able to ask granpa a few days later if he knew the guy. He says" Cripes ! That sorry son of a bitch. He was after your aunt for a year till I ran that bum off with a rifle and told him to stay away" I told him he seemed to be a nice fellow and he said: "He's an idiot and damn fool son of a bitch" He went on to tell me that my aunt was impressed that my father wanted to be a teacher so this bum went to school to do the same and like my dad became a shop teacher to impress my aunt. He then said that he had been informed that said bum was forced to switch to teaching english after he cut one of his fingers off in front of his class on the first week of school. Sure enough on Monday I got up close to teacher and he was missing a forefinger right at the first knuckle. You really can't make this stuff up. And it's hard to be able to seperate truth from 10 miles in the snow. Other stories, as a kid a cowboys and indian show used to come to the county fair every year. Grampa used to take me and I got to talk to real Indians. Sit on the horses, touch the guns and such. The story with that was that Gramps had been a trick shot in that same traveling rodeo.... He may or may not have been in the army. May have been a LEO for a time. I do know he and my dad both raised bird dogs. Granpa said they were so well trained that local farmers who hated gramps invited my Dad to hunt their propeties just to be able to use their dogs. True ? maybe. I do remember that they raised and trained many dogs but kept females for themselves. Hunting squirrel with gramps as a child the dogs would come along to chase the squirrel around the tree so we could get a good shot. While walking, the dogs would break away and go behind a tree to relieve themselves. When I asked why they did this Gramps said "They're proper ladies and know to hide their shame". I gotta call dad about some of the "other" stories. |