Louella: Your tale about the sow reminded me of a time, when I was 10 years old. We had several cousins visiting us. Mother was doing the washing ... Heating the water in the "wash pot" out in the yard and using wash tubs and a rub-board to clean the really dirty spots in the clothes. Well, she had a brand new bar of P&G soap and had laid it on the bench where the wash tub was. Along cam our old sow and took the bar of soap in her mouth. Mother started chasing her to get the soap back. Then all of us kids, 10 in all, joined in the chase. We were all getting tired when we finally got her surrounded. My older brother hit the sow with a stick hoping she would squeal and drop the soap. The sow turned and ran between the legs of my cousin Joyce, age 9. Joyce fell backwards and landed on the sow's back. When she landed on the sow's back the sow opened her mouth to squeal and dropped the soap. But we were all watching Joyce sitting backwards on the sow heading out to the corral. After a short distance Joyce fell off, and the sow was glad to get away from us! And Mother got her soap back ... with some pretty deep tooth marks in it. Thurmon On Sat, 17 May 2003 20:26:13 -0400 "louella@endor.com" <louellas@endor.com> writes: > Thurman, you are right, by today's standards most of us of a "certain > age group" would be placed in other households for doing some of > those > things! > I remember riding on the running board of our old Ford out in the > fields > when I was 3 yrs old. Remember it because dad stopped and I went > sliding up > over the hood > of the car (somehow missing the hood ornament which would have > "gutted" me) > and landing on the ground in front of the car. Knocked the breath > out of > myself > I have to admit I would never have let any of my kids ride on a > running board when they were 3, even with a big brother trying to > hold them > on (as my brother was assigned to do, he was 5 and obviously > failed). > Also remember my dad using my mom to get the cows back into the > corral they > had broken out of...the "boss cow" didn't like my mother and well, > lets just > say one of > the fondest memories of my mother is the picture in my mind, of her > turning > the corner into the driveway at full speed in a 1930s house dress & > apron > with a herd of cows galloping along behind her and dad bringing up > the rear. > We kids were not allowed outside during this event so have never > been sure > what > mom did when she got to the corral. And she would always give dad a > "look" > when > I would bring it up. Dad would change the subject. > My dad and uncle also used one of my cousins to get a BIG old sow > back into > her pen. My cousin in all innocence told them "sure she could run > real fast" > So as she ran through the gate with the sow behind her (the sow was > a mean > thing) > one of them reached down and plucked her up and the other closed the > gate > behind her. She was a city cousin, they couldn't convince my > brothers or me > to be bait for the sow. The Uncle was not her dad by the way, his > daughter > was a farm kid also and knew better. > Thanks for getting me to think of a different era, Thurman. > Louella

I must add this little story - I was about 3 living with my great aunt and uncle in Jerome, Idaho- My Uncle had just butchered a hog - [don't remember that] I found the neatest 'thing' to bounce on - I was jumping on this wonderful bouncy 'thing' when my cousin caught me in mid air - I was bouncing on the belly of the hog! - the mental picture is not pleasant! In the winter when everything froze - my uncle would butcher a hog, cow etc., he would hang it from the eves of the house - when my aunt wanted a roast, or what ever, he would go out and cut it off for her! The cellar smelled of all kinds of wonderful smells and the smoke house had hams, turkeys, etc hanging in it - I can still smell the smells of each when I 'remember' - I wanted a egg for breakfast, my aunt sent me to the chicken coop to get one egg - I had watched my aunt carry several eggs in her hand, soooo I tried that too - they fell and broke - I was scared to tell her, when I did, she told me when I grew up I would be able to carry 6 or 7 eggs like she did - she made me an apron so from now on when she sent me to gather the eggs I could put them in my apron - the apron was used for so many things, but was wonderful for gathering eggs and not breaking them! I wanted a sling shot like my cousin Myron had, he was about 16 at the time - I was 3 and followed him everywhere - [he saved me from the pigs belly!] He told me to go find a piece of wood like his - he showed me that I needed to find a piece of wood that looked like a "Y" - and he would make me a sling shot - off I went - I found one, I ran back to where he was to take him to see my "Y"- he told me to bring it to him, I told him he had to come with me to see it - It was still part of a living tree, high up in the branches - My cousin climbed the tree, cut 'my "Y" off and made me a sling shot, That perfect "Y" in my treasures - I still treasure it and the memory - Uncle piped water into the kitchen, I remember standing on a chair by the sink, I was the youngest child in the house [out of 11 children - I made 12] I was the first one to try to pump the pump!! My aunt helped me pump it - and out came the water - They lived on a farm, and when I was in town with my other aunts, they had running water in the house - now I realize what 'running water' means, in those years they had a bucket of water in the kitchen, but when you actually had running water in your kitchen, you had a pump and it ran! AND how fortunate you were - Wilma