The Life of Me: An Autobiography

hborhood. And of course, we had each other. But most of all, we had parents who had the knack of teaching us

absolutely nothing. It consisted of one beat-up tin can and a mesquite stick for each player. We spen

result of our parents' ingenuity and willingness to build things for us

enough for grown people. And we had to hold on tightly or be slung off. There was a special seat

and fruits too. We had apples during the entire year, and we got ba

ach one. Gifts from Santa were never wrapped. He put my things in the chair with my name in it, and the

nt life for all in the family, and now I was beginning to see families wo

of the boys got married. The whole neighborhood knew that th

ch to remember about it. But when they explained to me just how a chivaree was carried on, naturally I wanted in on the action. Any country kid

we silently surrounded the house and when the signal was given we

y figured we wouldn't go away until they came out. The groom came out into the yard and said something like, "Ah, come on that's enough noi

e or the other of us kids would claim it for our own. We would beg, "Papa, can I have it?" or,

apa's, naturally. But then, those of us who were young enough to believe it was really ours in the first place, were yo

n, she was old and her name was Ribbon. She was gentle and slow and patient with

e a stump or a tub or a wagon tongue or something e

want us to climb up on her, she would move away just far enough that, when we tried to ju

ging limb on a tree that she would walk under. And when she did, there was no way anyone could stay on her back. What's more, there was no way we little kids could keep her from that low limb. If we pulled her head to one side, sh

ber, Old Ribbon gave

e she didn't do

d supper at the close of day. Anyway, Mama and I would hook Old Ribbon to the old buggy and take Papa his dinner every day. One day we took Papa's dinner to him and found him sawing down trees where the railroad was to cross Dry Callie Creek. While

her to the old buggy to take Papa his dinner. As usual, I was in the seat with Mama, and the grub box

ore than a hundred ya

what comes natural

ibbon had symptoms

e other wouldn't have

made it p

And the white cloth over Papa's dinner caught its share-but it wasn't white any more. In your eyes, i

change clothes, change the cloth over the dinner, hope it didn't go through onto the biscui

rried and weary. He may have been upset and Mama may have been upset but they couldn't

ove heavy loads and haul his cotton to the gin. And in the rush cotton picking season, we kids and

e o'clock in the morning with a load of cotton, wait his t

e an hour or two earlier if he could get to the gin ahead of just one other far

sroads in order to be ahead of him when they both turned the last corner toward town. And I have heard him tell of others trying to pass him on the road. B

en it rained at the Exum place, water ran out of our pasture, across the parking

. Water was flowing into our small lake almost as fast as we could build the dam. The water backed up and covered the parking area by our front yard. By

he built it especially for that occasion. But I do know we went riding in his boat just o

nd the lake drained so we could use the road again

amlin was growing up. In the fall of the years, they had their fairs, with their carnivals, large hot-air balloons, motor

mes, as a substitute carrier. But for some reason unknown

14 model Reo, five-passenger touring car-the co

e first half-way down. The remainder of the way down, it became a foot brake. The right pedal was a

brake under one foot. It was especially handy when starting a car hea

ber we went to Lamesa in it one time. Going up the Cap Rock, it just couldn't make it alone. The road was steep and ro

re carrying rocks to put behind the wheels when it stopped. Then the driver would "rev" up the motor, let up on the clutch, and with

ing Washington for handouts. It also gave a man pride in ownership, e

If a man had a car that could do anything his neighbors couldn

e. No matter which company made the car you are driving today, you have nothing to brag about. Today's cars a

e while they jacked up the car to put the spare on. Then when they got going again, they forgot to release the brake and drove about a half-mile

putation of having great power. They said you could run the front bumper up against a tree and it h

one and, not having a garage to lock it in, drove it out by his hog pen and chai

rive into town to buy supplies, peddlers were alr

nything you might want, from kitchen utensils to medicine; hardware to veterinarian suppl

a country grows so do her cities and towns

roved to be effective enough. The man who got shot ran into a hardware store, ran through the store and out into the alley, up the alley a few doors, then ran back in

ill her Aunt Annie nicknamed her "Sookie." She hated that nickname ever- so-much. Nevertheless, she was stuck with it until she began to get serious about having Dode Sanford over to

never satisfied with what other people give them. She still argues that she was named Susan to begi

m on his farm. That made Dode and Susie next- door neighbors. I think that was abou

didn't know enough about it to know what kind of questions to ask to find out more. If I remember right, it seems they just drove away in the car one day with Papa, and when th

of paying their taxes. The road work could be done at a time most convenient to the individual farmers. This was not a matter of welfare hando

k, the county would collect tax money from that man

at work added to all his regular farm work, he had to s

of growing kids who could use a spoon right well at the dining ta

. Papa had a row binder with which to bundle the feed. But

shops. He bolted the cutter to one sideboard of his wagon Then he would drive the wagon up beside a shock of feed in the field, and while he placed the heads of a bund

ad the proper boy operating the knife, b

her. Cutting heads off bundles was one of those

he hadn't gotten his hand back out of the cutter. It looked to me like a bad cut. It bled a lot at first. I sure regretted what I

t fascinated me and, at the same time, taugh

wash his, he didn't seem to mind. He would get a wash pan of cold water, set it on the hearth and put in

l, Papa would take an open-top, five-gallon can with about four inches of ashes in the bottom and a few shovelfulls of hot coals on top of t

rabbits with air rifles, going to school; gathering eggs, feeding chickens, feeding cows and horses; playing in the barn, playing in the cottonseed, eating peanuts in the barn loft, wading in puddles after s