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leah777 -> RE: Leah's Stories (6/10/2005 9:35:06 PM)
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I guess it's time for another story [:D]
With all this talk about varmints & critters, I guess one might think I'm not the out-doorsy type . . but I am, in spite of not always likin' what I find out there [sm=tonguehappy.gif]
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Daddy loved to fish . . . we had this little song we used to sing -- taught it to our youngest brother, I remember --- it goes . . .
When he ain't a'fishin' . . . He sits around a'wishin'
That he'd go fishin' soon
He fishes in the mornin' . . . He fishes in the evenin'
He fishes by the light of the moon
There's things he likes about it . . . He couldn't do with out it
Cuz fishin' is a part of his life
And if he had one wish . . . To give up his gal or the fish . .
I'm afraid that he'd give up his wife.
. . . sorry if I'm a little off key there, but it's been a while -- kwim? [sm=icon_smile_bow.gif]
Now that's a little unfair, cuz Daddy was really a hard working man . . had to be with that many kids! [:)] . . . . but he really DID LOVE to fish, so nearly every weekend in the summer was spent on the river, whether just for the day, or overnight. Since he couldn't afford a vacation, he opted a few times to pack up and go to the river and spend a week or two, going to work from there.
We loved it!! . . . we never tired of swimming, and if there were any varmints or critters around, I'm guessin' that there was enough of us and we were loud enough to scare them into their holes till we left [sm=cool.gif] . . . well, it's not like we never saw any, but we weren't plagued with them enough to scare us away [sm=wink.gif]
Anyway, we'd get that car packed to the brim . . . I only remember having a van -- an old panel truck, we called it back then -- in the very early years, mostly it was an old car, and I still don't know how we managed to get everything we needed to stay on the river for that long in one car, but I know we did.
Us kids would be sitting on blankets piled nearly as high as the windows on the car -- which we thought was very cool! [sm=smile.gif] . . . . and there wouldn't be an inch of floorboard space anywhere in that car, but we'd get it all in . . . along with our old aluminum Pepsi-cola cooler (man, what I wouldn't give for that today!) . . . we had to make a stop on the way through town to buy a block of ice --- don't know how much that thing weighed, but I know they had to chip it every time to get it in the cooler.
When we got to the river, we had to help unpack and set up camp before we could get in the water --- it was a rule! [sm=sidesmile.gif] . . . oh, man, that was hard -- when we could hear that water just calling and beckoning to us!!! [sm=worried.gif] Our favorite camping spot was literally on the bank of the Meramec River . . . so we could see and hear the water at all times. Once in a while, if it was really, really hot, we would get to go in and get wet just to cool off, then we'd have to drag ourselves out of that nice cool water and up to the camp to finish setting up.
First we'd get the food stuff out, then out came all the overall quilts Mom had made from worn out bluejeans, and down they went on the ground, along with pillows and blankets, sheets, etc. . . . we'd finally get everything unpacked, beds made, table stuff put out, firewood gathered, hot dog sticks cut, and then we'd head for the water! The olders ones always watched out for the younger ones, and it was a rule that we never, ever held anyone under and we never screamed unless we needed help . . . of course, I know there had to be plenty of squealin' going on, but I guess Mom & Daddy could tell the difference between squealin' & screamin' [sm=wink.gif] . . . . Anyway, Daddy was right down on the riverbank fishing most times, and Mom, even though she might be putterin' around fixin' the next meal, would be keepin' a watchful eye on us from the campsite.
We'd play & play in the water . . underwater tag, king of the rock (when we could find a rock [;)] ), and if we ran out of games, we'd make up a few of our own! Our noon meal usually consisted of hot dogs, chips, & soda --- soda & chips were treats we didn't have much at home, so we were in seventh heaven [:)] . . . but this was always eaten on the run – we couldn’t take time for more than the bare necessities, cuz the water was waitin’!
Daddy had a v-bottom boat with an old Elgin motor, and we loved to take boat rides with him . . . he wasn't much for wasting a lot of gas running up & down the river, but he would always at least take us for ride across the river & back; he also set out trot lines, and we would get to go with him to help with that . . that was fun too! (another story about that later [sm=icon_smile_tongue.gif] )
Mom always fixed a full meal for supper . . it might be something simple like a pot of beans (I really didn't like beans [:(] ) or chili, or it might be Daddy's freshly caught suckers, catfish, blue gill & perch, cleaned, scaled, -- and scored for the suckers -- rolled in corn meal & flour, then fried up to perfection in a 20 inch iron skillet balanced on rocks that Daddy had set just so around the hot fire. Beside it another iron skillet, 5" deep and about 12” across, held a huge mound of sliced potatoes sizzling and popping till they were golden brown, some crispy & crunchy, and some just melt-in-your-mouth braised & done. The aroma alone would draw us -- somewhat reluctantly -- out of the water . . you learned at an early age not to be late for supper at our house :lol:
After we ate supper, and the dishes were cleaned up and put away, we usually had time for another swim before bed. We weren't allowed to stay in the water after dark because of snakes and other critters that were fond of the night, but that was okay, cuz we stayed in long enough to be perfectly happy to stand around a roaring campfire roasting marshmallows and listening to daddy tell stories . . . we always liked the one about the guy bitin' off a frog's head [sm=frog.gif] . . . don't know why we liked that story -- we'd all go "ewwwww Yuk!" but we ask him to tell it again [sm=tonguehappy.gif]
Then came bedtime.
We'd all go claim our pallet and pillow & snuggle down under a blanket. This time was so special, as we lay there trying to count the stars, finding the big dipper and the little dipper, the north star, the milky way, while all around us were the sounds of crickets, tree frogs, hoot owls, whippoorwills, bobwhites, cows mooing in the field across the river, even the drone of mosquitos flying above our heads . . . occasionally we'd hear a screeching off in the distant woods . .a wildcat capturing it’s prey!. . . and as an ethereal background to this melodious night symphony, the flowing of the river played a soft harmony, working it’s magic on our tired minds and bodies that were trying so valiantly to stay awake and prolong the night, and it would lull us into a deep sleep.
We woke to the smell of bacon frying. We’d open our eyes, warding off the sun that seemed to take on a brilliance too bright for human eyes! Slowly, we’d crawl out from under the warm blanket to go hover by the fire. The aroma of the bacon in the flat skillet and more potatoes in the deep skillet was nearly more than we could stand, and we’d begin to ask Mom . . “is it almost done???” . . . a couple of times of this, and she’d send us off to ready the table, and wake the little ones! [sm=rolleyes.gif]
Oh, the thought of those breakfasts still make my mouth water . . . fried potatoes, bacon, eggs, gravy . . and sometimes she’d even bury a pan of biscuits under the hot coals and we’d have fresh baked bread!! . . . . Our mouths would be watering, our tummies growling as she started dishing up plates, serving everything right from fire --- there’s just nothing like a breakfast like that on the river! [sm=chef.gif]
Breakfast over, food & utensils put away, off we’d go to change into our swimsuits and head to the water!! . . . . “the last one in’s a rotten egg!!!” we’d yell as we ran down the bank -– we always managed to find a jumpin’ off place -- and we’d all pile into the water.
Daddy didn’t seem to mind us swimming near where he was fishing. When other people would come & try to fish, more often than not, they’d leave muttering something about the fish not bitin’ around where all that racket was [sm=growlwarning.gif] but Daddy always said we woke ‘em up, and got ‘em to bitin’ [:D]
It seemed like no matter how long we stayed on the river, it was never long enough and we were never ready to go home. Eventually, though, we had to, and with long faces, we would help pack up and look forlornly at the river as though it was the last time we’d see it . . . the truth was, we’d likely be back there within a week[sm=wave.gif]
What fun! What good times!! Sometimes, when I think about times like that in my childhood, I wonder – “how could heaven get any better??” . . . and yet, I know it will be . . then I have to wonder how we can stand it! I know the Bible says we cannot look on the face of God because His glory is too great, but I sometimes think we are going to have to take heaven little doses at a time or it will just be more than we can stand! [;)] . . . . Oh boy, I’m ready! [sm=funny.gif]
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