Every year
when fall starts comin in with that little, cool nip in the air and the skies are
crystal, clear and blue as far as the eye can see, it takes me back to some
good memories of those long ago falls, when we didn’t have a care in the world.
Having to hit
the ole school bus after trompin through the thickets all summer wasn’t
somethin we looked forward to but after we got back into the groove of things
we found it wasn’t so bad after all, till we got the yellow bus fever. We found
out the hard way after cryin wolf a few times, it doesn’t work.
Mama used to
say she wished school went the whole year round. But that was because we
worried the daylights out of her.
I asked her
one time what worryin the daylights out of her meant and she told me it meant
drivin her crazy as a bess bug. We were always into one thing after
the other, it was no wonders she had so many gray hairs in her head. I never
did ask her what a bess bug was.
They had some
funny, ole sayin’s back then but we grew up listenin to em so much we took em
at what they meant, not what they said.
Every year
when the remnants of the garden were gone and mama had canned everything she
could includin the leftovers from which she made the chow chow, ( man was that
stuff good with a big pot of pinto beans )
the whole family pitched in and took up all the taters and carried em to
the tater hole. Daddy and the boys would get busy clearin off the patches
before cold weather set in. They’d be nice and clean come spring when garden
plantin time rolled around.
They’d pile
all the corn stalks, bean vines, etc. in a big pile in the middle of the patch.
Sometimes they’d have to make two or three piles. Us young’uns could hardly
wait till daddy decided to burn em. That’d usually come on a nice calm night or
late evening when the wind was still. He always said it was better to wait till
after a good rain and the ground was kinda damp. He worried about catchin the
woods on fire a lot. He’d only burn one brush pile at a time and let the others
go till later on.
If we were
lucky we’d manage to save a little money and have some marshmallows to roast.
We sure did look forward to playin in that fire and roastin marshmallows.
Mama would
scold us by sayin, “every one of ye is gonna wet the bed tonight, playin in
that fire.” I don’t remember any of us ever wettin the bed but it sure got me
to thinkin sometimes. Just another ole sayin to get us out of the fire .
We loved to
poke at it with sticks and throw a little kindlin on it as we called it. The
longer that fire burned and the higher the flames, the more we liked it.
It’d smolder
all night even after daddy got it burnt down enough to risk leavin it till
morning.
Before we had
to leave to catch the school bus come morning we’d run back out to the
smolderin fire, grab a stick and poke some more till mama’d put us down the
road before we missed the bus. She said, “uns are gonna ruin your clothes and
they’ll smell like smoke all day long.” We were used to that since we had wood
heat in the winter we smelled of smoke anyways, didn’t bother us none.
All the brush
piles would be burnt by frost and we had to figger out other ways to have fun.
We never did have to look far. We made up our own fun as we went along.
We always had
to walk out to the main road a purty good ways to catch the school bus. We’d
dare one another to stick their tongue to the mailbox on a frosty mornin. It’d
freeze our tongue to it and it was hard to get lose without pullin the skin
off. One morning my youngest brother stuck his to it just about the time the
bus came and he tried to get it lose and finally had to jerk it off. When we
all got on the bus I looked at him and he was close to tears but wouldn’t let
on. I knew he was hurtin somethin fierce.
After that
happened and mama and daddy found out about it they put a stop to it in a big
way, or so they thought.
When the
weather came in even more cold and daddy was home and not off workin he’d walk
out with us to the road and build us a fire so we could get warm. He’d tote a
little kindlin out and just enough wood to get it going good so we could warm
our hands and when the bus run he’d be the one to put it out before he went
back to the house.
My oldest
brother kept on till he talked daddy into lettin him build it and it’d save him
walkin out with us. Daddy didn’t take much to that idea at first but he finally
gave in. I’m sure he came along behind us and checked on it after we caught the
bus.
My brother was
always good at buildin fires in the wood heater and cook stove and he could
build a nice little fire, if I say so myself. The only problem was, when the
bus came one or two of the other boys like to kick it and send that fire
sailin.
After a couple
times of doing this, it all came to a kietis and we had to do without a fire.
It’s a thousand wonders it hadn’t caught the woods on fire or worse.
When the first
snowflakes started fallin we jumped fer joy. We loved the big snows that came
in knee deep. We’d get outta school quite a while. One time I remember schools
shuttin down fer two weeks. It was all we could do to plow through it to get to
the barn to feed the cow or to milk, but that didn’t stop us.
All we had to
put on our hands was an ole pair of worn out socks. We were in one door and out
the other. We’d throw snowballs at one another, make snowmen and slide down the
hill in the cow pasture on anything we could find. Sometimes it’d be an ole
piece of cardboard or if we were lucky an ole car hood. It’s a wonders we didn’t
all get killed with all the chances we took.
We’d run
inside long enough to warm up and eat a bite and back out we’d go. We’d eat
enough snow cream to get the sore throat but as fer playin outside in the cold
it never hurt us none. We were used to it come spring, summer, fall or winter.
Some of the stuff we got into and done may not
seem like much fun to some but we were just a bunch of young’uns having the
best of times and enjoyin the simple pleasures in life and puttin more and more
gray hairs on our mama’s head.
There was
always plenty to do and we never had a care in the world.
© Susie Swanson, 2015
Susie, It sounds like hard times but fun too. Kids really had to use their imaginations back then didn't we? Who ever would have thought kids would be toting phones to school...back when we were young we used our neighbors' phones till we finally got one of our own.LOL. Blessings, xoxo,Susie
ReplyDeletep.s. Hope you are doing well .
ReplyDeleteI think out doors are great for growing minds and bodies and working hard actually establishes a good habit of being a hands on person. The natural beauty of autumn and even winter is enjoyed more by staying outdoors and not by the television or cell phones like today's kids have.
Lovely memories!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite fall memory is the smell of wood smoke, when the stoves are fired up for the first time!
Such wonderful stories of your childhood, Susie. I always wondered if it was true about the tongue thing and frosty mornings, and now I know it is. Your poor brother. Kids will do the silliest things. Thank you for sharing your stories with us, and it brought back a few of my own. We used to roast marshmallows too, especially when we went camping.
ReplyDeletelove, ~Sheri
What can I say, Susie, except I loved it all. I had no brothers but a cousin who was like a brother,and we played outside all the time. I wish kids now could know the joys of those bygone days. I detest the constant use of cell phones!
ReplyDeleteWonderful memories, Susie! Reminded me of quite a few of my own. Blessings, my friend!
ReplyDeleteAnother great story full of memories, Susie. Those days were hard, but they were fun too.
ReplyDeleteYou have a fabulous memory and you have recounted your younger days very vividly and interestingly.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Passalidae is a family of beetles known variously as "bessbugs",[1] "bess beetles",[1] "betsy beetles"[1] or "horned passalus beetles". Nearly all of the 500-odd species are tropical; species found in North America are notable for their size, ranging from 20–43 mm, for having a single "horn" on the head, and for a form of social behavior unusual among beetles.
ReplyDeleteThought you'd get a kick out of this definition of Bess bug...I think it was the horn on top of the head that made your Mama think of it? lol
Blessings and love~Lisa