Cats and Horses...what more could one ask for?

My mom has been on my mind a lot lately.

She was a force to be reckoned with.  Only 5'1", she managed to run her grocery store, raise 5 kids, who knows how many chickens, and still keep her sanity.  Maybe.

Mom's grocery extended "credit" in our little "community".  Sometimes the credit would be paid in chickens, or vegetables and fruits from gardens but often Mom knew when extending the credit that the money would not come back to her; at least, not in money.  Goodwill.  The people in our little community cared deeply for this little woman who never made them feel little.

One of my favorite stories (and there are many) is that Mom would dress up as Santa Claus at Christmas and go to others who were less well off than we were and take presents to the children.  Simple presents such as the small rubber dolls that were so popular in those days, toy trucks or cars, sometimes paper dolls, and candy.  Mom loved candy herself so made sure she included candy for each child.

The reason I am so vague about this entire process is because I was pretty small at that time also and Mom wanted me to continue to believe in Santa.  So her yearly excursions were kept from me.

How did I find out about them?  In 1963 we moved to Indiana.  Dad passed away in 1975 and Mom moved back to Tennessee in 1978.  (This is important...just hold on.)

In 1986, Mom's 70th birthday, we had a blow-out birthday celebration for her.  Because she was known across 3 counties, and had relatives in many more, we put the invitation in the local newspapers (No gifts, please.) Keeping the secret from Mom was difficult, because she still read every local newspaper as well as the Knoxville Journal regularly, but we managed it.

The big day came.  A few of us stayed with Mom, others "hid" at relatives homes only showing up on the day of her birthday.  There were so many people there!  None of us knew everyone who showed up, but they all had memories about Mom and her store.

A "young" man showed up that no one of us recognized.  In his late 30's or early 40's, one of us should have known who he was but we didn't.  He asked, "Where's Mrs. Crabtree?"  and was pointed in Mom's direction.

Kneeling in front of Mom, he asked, "Mrs. Crabtree, do you remember me?"  Mom, who never liked to admit she didn't remember someone, hemmed and hawed and said, "You look like a young boy who used to come to my store with his parents, but I can't place your name."

Delighted the man said, "You are right.  James and Catherine Baker*, my mommy and daddy used to come over here on Sundays just to talk or visit a bit.  Sometimes we'd get a coke or a pack of peanuts, but lots of times we'd just visit."  Pausing, he continued, "But, that isn't why I remember you, Mrs. Crabtree.  Do you know why I remember you?"

Mom said, "Why, yes, if my eyes worked the way they should, I would've seen your daddy in you."
Pausing, Mom said, "Why do you remember me?"

Taking Mom's hands in his, he said, "You dressed up as Santa Clause every year and brought me and my brothers and sisters candy and a toy.  Because of you, I believed in Santa Clause.  Mommy and Daddy never had enough money to give us gifts, but you, as Santa, did.  I was broken hearted when Santa stopped visiting.  After I got old enough to understand, my daddy finally told me who Santa really was.  I've never forgot that.  I've never forgot that you gave me and my brothers and sisters a Christmas for several years.  When I saw your birthday party in the paper, I knew I'd come to wish you a happy birthday and tell you that I will never forget you."

That this young man remembered and was touched for 23 years (1963 to 1986) spoke volumes to me about the kind of person my mom was.  She gave to others freely and without expecting anything in return.

To this day, I tear up when telling this story.

I just hope that someday I turn out to be half the woman my mother was.

*All of this is hearsay for me, because I was in the house doing something that needed to be done. I don't actually know the young man's name and do not remember anyone in our community named Baker.

Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016

The First Day of Summer Vacation

Donny and Andy had a GREAT day planned!  It was the first day of summer break!  They were both up at dawn, met in their tree house, and each brought food for the day.  No way were they going home ... there were adventures to be had this summer!

Bologna and crackers washed down with several swigs from a common Kool-Aid container was the best breakfast ever!  

Two explosive "BURPS" sounded through the air!

Laughing loudly and rolling around play-fighting, Donny almost rolled out of the tree-house. Luckily they stopped just in time.

"Come on!  Let's go down to the creek!"

"Race ya!"

"You're too slow!  You run like a turtle!"

"Yeah....and you run like a girl!"

The two boys chased after each other, first one taking the lead, then the other.

Skidding around a curve in the path they almost ran over Old Man Tompkins, who was out taking a morning run.

"You two better be more careful!  You almost ran me over!" he shouted at them.

"Sorry!"  "Sorry!" the two called as they raced away.

"Little rowdies!" he growled. Grinning he added, "But, it is the first day of summer break.  Bet those boys have all kinds of plans."

If he only knew...

The two boys waded in the creek, climbed at least a dozen trees, ate apples out of the Anderson's orchard (they didn't get caught), joined in a game of baseball with some other kids, Miss Baker fed them jelly sandwiches and more Kool-Aid for their lunch, went fishing, swung like Tarzan on some low hanging tree limbs, tagged up with Jimmy for a while and went bike riding (borrowing bikes from Jimmy's little brother and sister), and had one of the BEST first days of summer break in their lives!

"Donny!  Look!  It's getting real dark!  I think we should head home."

"Nah!  We got at least ten more minutes before it gets real dark.  Besides, it's the first day of summer vacation."

"Yeah, and it'll be my last if my dad gets the switch after me.  I'm heading for home."

"Oh, jeez, Andy,  You're such a spoil sport!"  Donny griped as he picked himself up off the ground and brushed the leaves and grass and some of the dirt off his clothes.  "Okay.  Let's go home," he whined, giving a big smile so Andy would know he wasn't really upset.

*****************Meanwhile, back at the Parker/Turner family residences*****************

"Jane, have they found Donny yet?" Aunt Sarah asked.

"No.  Neither of those two boys have been seen in more than two hours.  It's getting dark and they're supposed to be home. They're in sooooo much trouble."

"Where was the last place you know they were?"

"Miss Baker fed them some lunch.  Then they took Kathy and Eddie's bikes, without permission I might add, and no one has seen them since they brought the bikes back.  That's almost three hours ago."

"Jane, Caroline, we've come to help look for the boys.  Do you have any idea where they are?"

"None," Jane said. Looking at her sister's face, Jane suddenly sat down, covered her face and began to sob.  "I'm so scared.  We've been looking for almost two hours and can't find either of them."

"They're ok.  They're ok.  You have to believe that.  Maybe they're inside somewhere watching cartoons."

"No.  They know they're not supposed to go in anyone's house if the parents aren't home."

Frank and Walter pulled up in front of the house, jumped out of the car, and ran up the porch steps. 

"Jane," Frank said, simply holding his wife close, "I'm sure the boys are okay.  They're both bright, smart young lads and they ... they... they might even be asleep somewhere after playing all day in the sun."

Walter had his arm around Caroline, who had her face buried in his shirt, sobbing.

Neighbors, aunts and uncles from two counties over, friends, and strangers had all joined in the hunt for the two boys.  But now it was dark.  The stars were shining brilliantly in the night sky.  And the boys had not been found.

Frank and Walter took their wives into the house and poured them two strong cups of tea saying, "Drink this."  The neighbors and relatives congregated on the front porch, talking in hushed, worried tones.

The sudden quietness from the front porch alerted Frank and Walter that something was happening.  Striding toward the front door, Frank stopped in his tracks as his son opened the front door and called out, "Hi, Mom!  I'm home.  What's the big occasion? Why is everyone here?"

First, Relief.  Second, Anger.  Anger won.

Towering over his son, Frank had never looked so big in Donny's eyes.  Leaning over, Frank grabbed the front of his son's shirt, lifted him off the floor, and straight-armed him up to the ceiling.

What happened next is debatable, but Donny swears to this day that his father "stuck" him to the ceiling and then proceeded to point his finger in his face and tell him in no uncertain terms that, "You had better NEVER pull such a dumb, foolish,thick-headed trick again.  Going off all day and not checking back in, worrying your mother to tears, scaring the police, the neighbors, and just look, all your aunts and uncles are here to help us look for you because we were all worried to death about you and you....you....you are off playing some silly game or doing something asinine instead of taking care of your self and knowing that your mother and I would be worried sick about you and not know what might have happened to you."

and on and on and on

Donny did not come down from that ceiling until, finally, his father burst into tears, wrapped him in his arms and hugged him so hard he could barely breathe.

Every brother, sister, neighbor, cousin, friend, aunt, uncle and policeman that were there swear to this day that this is exactly what happened.

They wouldn't all be lying would they?

And Donny never pulled a silly trick like that again.  Or, at least if he did, he got home before dark.

P.S.  Donny swears he was stuck to the ceiling for at least an hour.  His brother swears it was only 20 minutes.  I don't know who's telling the truth.

copyright Gail Truax 2016

                                      WHAT DID YOU DO LAST SUMMER?

 Mac, 6 years old, was a bright, intelligent, engaging child with a big smile for everyone.  But now, summer was over.  School had started.  The dreaded first lesson of the year was upon Mac.  "What did you do last summer?"

"What am I  going to write about, Mommy?" Mac asked.

"How about our trip to Ohio and what a good time you had at your cousin's wedding?"

And that's exactly what Mac did.  He  wrote about his family's trip to a cousin's wedding, where he and several other family members had enjoyed 5 days of games, picnics, swimming, hiking, and horseback riding.  And, of course, the wedding.  But the wedding wasn't nearly as much fun as he had playing with his cousins.

You can imagine his mom's surprise when she received a phone call from her son's teacher requesting a parent/teacher conference immediately.   "What could be wrong?" Jinny worried.

"Mrs. Smith, I don't quite know how to bring this up to you but I feel I must because this is just so bizarre...so strange... that to not mention it I would be deficient in my duties as a teacher."

"Mrs, Clark, what is wrong?  What has Mac done?"

"Mac hasn't done anything but I think you should know what .... activities....he was involved in during the summer break."

"Activities?"

"Ummm....yes.  I understand you went to a wedding over the summer?"

"Yes."

"And the younger children spent a great deal of time with their older cousins?"

"Yes."

Biting her lip, Mrs. Clark said, "And....did you know that Mac and his older cousins spent a lot of time 'playing' in the outhouse?"

Jinny's sat back, her eyes widened, and then she began to smile.

"Mrs. Smith, this is not a laughing matter.  I am worried that this 'play' might have been .... wrong."

"Oh, Mrs. Clark,  I appreciate your bringing this to my attention but I can assure you, there is nothing to be worried about."

"How can you be sure?  Mac wrote in his paper that he and his cousins spent a great deal of time playing in the outhouse."  Mrs. Clark replied, holding the homework out for his mother to read.

"Because the 'OUTHOUSE' is not an outhouse like you are thinking.  My aunt and uncle called it that because when they first bought their farm the house was almost ready to fall down.  Animals were living in it, the roof had several leaks,  and they called it their "Outhouse".    As a joke.  However, they remodeled the entire house and it is now a nice 3 bedroom home where several families stayed over the wedding.  The kids waded in the creek, caught crawdads, rode horses, and climbed trees.  They had a great week."

Relief flooded over Mrs. Clark's face.  "I am  glad to hear that.  I was so worried about Mac.  And I didn't know how to approach you with this information."

*********************************************************************************

When we bought our farm, the "former" farm house was in bad dis-repair.  We spent a lot of time and money whipping the "OUTHOUSE", as we fondly called it, back into a livable condition.  The blood, sweat, and tears of more than a year produced a house we were able to offer to our big family as a "stopping point" between family visits.

When our son announced that he and his girlfriend were getting married, we were pleased as punch to offer to any and all relatives that if they were willing to share the 3-bedroom, 1 bath, large kitchen-living room combination "OUTHOUSE" with other family members, they were welcome to stay with no hotel bills.

Needless to say, many relatives took us up on the offer.

Everyone had a great time.  Between our house and the "OUTHOUSE" we hosted between 20-30 people.  Since both of us came from big families, we were used to sharing living space and everyone had a good time.

The older nieces and nephews cared for the younger ones.   The wedding was definitely a second-string activity.

We still haven't changed the name of the "OUTHOUSE."   It's still there.

Greymalkin and the Heroic Rescue

Third in the Greymalkin books.  Enjoy this little tale about two cats, two sisters, and a great adventure.

Available on Amazon