Thursday, March 13, 2014

Another little piece from my "Moccasin Holler Memoirs"...


Today will be a little different.  Up until now I have shared stories from my childhood and growing up in the 50's in Moccasin Holler.  This is a collection of "glimpses" that I will continue to add to.
 
"A Gathering of Memories"

     I think everyone has glimpses of the past…memories that flash through your mind quickly and evoke a myriad of emotions.  Sometimes it may be a smile or even a little giggle.  Sometimes you may to be enveloped in sadness or filled with laughter.  Or, there might be that one quick flash that leaves so quickly you couldn’t quite grasp it and you try for the rest of the day to get it back.  This is a collection of memories such as those.
   This will be an ongoing process and the way I jump from one subject to another may be confusing or I may seem to ramble.  Don’t worry, that is very common for me… 


 (The "pond" was a few feet in front of this barn.)
…..The ground outside is covered with sleet, ice and snow.  The winter of 2014 has been a rough one…we have probably gotten more snow this winter than in the past five winters combined.  I’m not the only one that has had more than enough of winter this year.  But, when I was a kid I would have been thrilled.  We didn’t get a lot of snow in the Missouri Bootheel and when we did we thoroughly enjoyed it.  There was a pretty good sized sunken in place in the pasture…to my brother, sister and I, it was a magnificent pond and perfect for ice skating.  Now, we had never even seen an actual pair of ice skates.  That didn’t matter because what we had was even better…a plastic bread sack over each shoe to keep out the water (some people had boots that would do the same thing) and a pair of  Daddy’s old socks over the bread sacks.  Once we made it to the pond, snow was packed on the socks making them perfect for gliding across the ice.  We had quite a time and put on a pretty good show for the cows that gathered around to watch!


 "She didn't wear them in the summer, either."
(Mama, me, baby brother Tony and my bestest dog ever, Boy)

…..Mama didn’t like to wear shoes,no matter what the weather.  Mama loved to hang the laundry outside to dry.  Yep, even on the coldest, snowiest, most icy days, out she would go in the mornings to fill the clothes lines full.  Then, in the late afternoon, she would bring it all back in and lay it out to thaw. And, she did this barefoot.  Daddy would always say, “One of these days your feet are going to turn blue and fall off".  They never did.

…..I used to run away at least once a week during the warm months.  I don’t know why.  Right after dinner I would take off.  I only made it as far as the bob trucks parked next to the tool sheds.  These were big, old trucks with enclosed beds that were used to haul soybeans and corn to the gin…I chose them because once I climbed in I couldn’t be seen.  I would lie on my back and watch the clouds, a favorite pastime of mine.  Then, about supper time my stomach would start to growl signaling time to go back.  I was always so upset that no one tried to find me.  Poor, pitiful me…I was never even missed.  It never occurred to me that Mama had watched me from the back porch the whole time.

Now it is your turn to share a "glimpse".

Hugs,
Judy

4 comments :

  1. Great memories. Can't believe your momma hung clothes barefoot in the winter! Bob trucks!! That word sure brought back memories. Why in the world didn't I think to hide in one? That sounds glorious - hidden from the world and watching the clouds.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gaye, thanks for you comment. I know there are times now when I would welcome a "bob truck"! :)

      Delete
  2. What an adventurous childhood! We lived by the river so we had flooding all the time.
    I would always take off from home looking for things to get into. I was the baby of five so my siblings didn't want me around. We weren't close :(
    It's nice that you can write about your life. Mine wouldn't be so nice.
    Blessings,
    Carol

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Carol, I love writing about my growing up years and am blessed to have had a great childhood. That flooding river sounds pretty adventurous to me!! Thanks for reading my stories and commenting, I really do appreciate it.
    Hugs,
    Judy

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comments, I love hearing from you.
Judy