|
Memories and Stories
My grandparents farm was part of the original land grant from his grandfather
Alonzo Bates.
I have many fond memories of my grandparents Louis and Alma Gill. We called them Nan & Pop.
Nan
was sick for some time with stomach cancer and while she was in the hospital my brother and I stayed a lot at the farm with
Pop.
One night, not long after we had gone to bed, there was a terrible noise outside in the field. We were both scared
silly. Pop got up, put on his old suspendered overalls and slippers and grabbed his wrist rocket sling shot and a handfull
of steel ball bearings.
What we had heard was either a bobcat or something a bit bigger. In later years, I often wondered
if it was a big cat like so many people have reported seeing.
It was loud and it was close and the scream made chills
of fear run down your back.
As Pop went outside, we huddled in the corner of the bedroom waiting to hear something.
Soon
he came back in and said "it's gone, you can go back to sleep." My brother asked him. "But Pop, what could you do with a sling
shot?" He said not to worry and he would show him in the morning.
In the morning, he made a true believer out of us. What
most men could do with a pistol it apeared he could with a large sling shot.
We never questioned his ability to protect
us again.
We had the best of both worlds as kids. We could visit the farm and roam for hours in the fields. There was
always something to do. We had the best dog in the world out there.
He followed us all over that 80 acres and back again.
We dug for arrowheads, pounded sand in badger holes(not too smart), picked wild grapes,hunted for chipmunks and tree toads,
shelled peas on the front porch and we were lucky enough to be a part of huge family gatherings on Sundays when the whole
extended family would come along with a good share of the neighbors.
There are days when I can still smell the home canned
chicken frying in the pan and hear the bustle and laughter of the women as they fixed a meal fit for a king.
|
