The Rest of The First Day
Well, after dinner, I got real sleepy and my Grandma had settled into a rocker on the front porch with me on her shoulder. Finally, the meal of soup beans and corn bread caught up with me and I dozed off. I must have slept for a few hours because when I woke up I was in the front bedroom lying on the bed.
I rolled over and slid off the bed. As I wobbled into the living room, I could hear my Mama on the front porch talking to my Grandma. I looked out and saw them pass a jar of what I later found out was snuff back and forth. Every once in a while, they would spit into the yard a stream of brown spit. I wondered a little about that but I was feeling a little hungry after my nap, so I walked into the kitchen to see if I could find a snack. I was a little unsteady because I wasn’t used to walking. I saw a big pot of soup beans on the wood stove but I wasn’t tall enough to reach them. Finally, I saw a piece of cornbread on the table. I climbed into a chair and ate it. Then I felt thirsty. I went over to the kitchen sink but it was too high for me to get any water. I looked under the sink and saw a quart jar almost full of water. I finally got the top unscrewed and took a big drink. Wow, it wasn’t water after all. I took another big drink just to make sure and it still wasn’t water. I was later to find out it was moonshine whiskey that my Daddy made. I finished off the quart of whiskey and then I felt sleepy again so I staggered back into the bedroom and after some time was able to climb back up onto the bed. I settled into a deep slumber.
When I woke up Mama was shaking me and saying son, wake up, wake up. I opened my eyes and she looked at me and said what is wrong with your eyes, they are all red. I also had a big, big headache. She took me out on the back porch and splashed cold water on me until I was fully awake. Then we sat on the front porch and rocked for a while.
Just as it was growing dusk, I looked out the road and saw a long string of kids and a giant coming toward the house. The kids all had hoes on their shoulder and the giant brought up the rear. As they filed into the house, my brother Gerald stopped by my Mama’s rocker and said: “How come he didn’t have to hoe corn?” My Mama told him I wasn’t old enough yet. Then the giant stepped up on the porch and told my Mama. Have that boy go and chop some stove wood to cook supper with.
My Mama took me out to the side yard where some logs were piled up and we grabbed a bow saw and she and I cut off several rounds of wood. Then we split them up with a heavy axe. As Mama finished splitting the wood, I carried the smaller pieces into the kitchen and gave them to my sister Thelma who started a fire in the wood stove and started fixing supper.
Supper was fried rabbit, boiled corn and biscuits along with some sliced cucumbers, onions, and radishes. After supper, I went back into the bedroom and climbed back on the bed. Then I heard a commotion in the kitchen. The giant who later I found out was my Daddy, Fred Owen, was cussing up a storm. He was yelling at Mama about someone drinking all his likker and leaving an empty jar. I tried to keep up with the conversation, but I was too tired. I dozed off and did not wake up until the morning of the second day. I still had a headache.
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