No crit-- just a fun read 1100 words

J'Dubee

I make tall stories short
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This is from a, same-age, female-type, cousin of mine whom I reminisce with.

This is to spark some more interest in Western SYW, no critin' is necessary.

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These county folks were really ready for a party! The new lantern in the outhouse was appreciated as there seemed to be a study stream to and from that two-holed, honeysuckle-covered haven which was reached via a pathway through the middle of our back garden. Our cellar lantern hung from the rose arbor over the front gate which had been left standing open. The most important lighting outside probably was the barn lantern on a post on one side of the ledge rock that crossed the ravine. With people walking from the barn yard, and also the pasture across the road from it, mama wanted to make sure they could see were to step coming across the top of the ravine to and from our side yard gate . When the barn yard's decent parking places were filled, Macky opened the gate across the road to our second pasture, and folks parked in the front portion of that pasture on any decent somewhat-flat-place they could find. Well, as you can guess, way too many people came and mama was at a lost as how to handle it. They literally came out of the woods from every direction. Like I said, people showed up we had never even met or heard of before. Later, Macky said a man rode up carrying a rifle and a jug with a grin of his face asking, "This the Shivaree Cell-lee-bra-shon?" The newlyweds arrived in a old spring- board buggy pulled by a pair of matching horses - with much adieu. I DO remember everyone clapping their hands and singing to them. There were slaps on the back of the groom and the women ushering the blushing bride away into the house with much giggling and laughter. Mama said later that she noticed a clear Mason Jar of home-brewed liquor had sprouted up on her window sill in the living room. She told them :no drinking in her house!. She’d tried to 'slow the flow'; however, she knew that the men just took it on out of her house and continued to drink outside down by the walnut tree or maybe as far away as the barnyard. The party was during a terrible war when everyone had to "do without." Folks were worried as they struggled to make it to the end of the war with seemingly no ending in sight. It was time to let loose, I guess, and forget problems for a while, even if just for one evening - there would be no stopping them that night During the party, some young people took the bridal buggy apart, and somehow got it up, and put it back together, on top of our old listing-slightly-to- the-side barn roof. (Yah, you heard me!) I sure do wish we'd had a picture of that! It was full nighttime, but one could see the outline of it in black silhouette in the clear night sky sitting up there on top of the barn which had the valley sky back of it - and below. That buggy sat up there in black relief against the evening sky which was full of stars "Lordy! Lordy! What were they gonna do?" The Dean Family who came were a musical family with two boys and a grandpa played instruments. The boys had their banjos ( or were they guitars?) and the old man played the bones with his fingers. We were sure sorry that our Grandpa Coffey was not there with his harmonicas. He really would have loved it and so would have the neighbors that continued to show up. (Grandpa Tom was a great entertainer and could play many different sized harmonicas very well.) There was an ol' guy old man that played the fiddle - poorly with squeaks and squawks,l but no body seemed to mind, or so mama said.. The two or maybe they were twins, --the Deans' girls, were about fifteen years old. They danced a clog. The sound of their stomping shoes could be heard out where we played tag in the Johnson Grass. Folks whooped and encouraged them to dance faster and faster - and the party warmed up some more. Before the first square dance was formed in the living room, folks moved the stand with a radio and lamp into the near-by corner, the big stove remained where it was, but mama's rocker was removed to one of the bedrooms. That was all that we'd had in the living room The musicians were removed to chairs outside the front open window so folks could dance in the living room. The door and windows were wide open to hear them clearly. Well, the party must have gotten more out of hand or just too adult, because my mama and some other mother's gathered up the little girls, which included me, and we were are herded into Macky's upstairs bedroom to sleep on blankets on the floor. I fell asleep giggling and talking to other little girls while the floor we were to sleep on, bounced and vibrated from the stomping of the dancing right below us. After that I only heard what happened from others, but it was repeated at the river gatherings and with visiting neighbors so much I have it all just about memorized by heart. Someone slipped Croton Oil into one of the water buckets on the screened-in kitchen porch. If you have not heard of Croton Oil it is clear in color and will send a body to the bathroom - frequently. It wasn't put in both water buckets, so not everybody got a dose of it, but those that did - well they had an unhappy trip home that night with frequent stops to relieve themselves. Mr. Box, who drove his big truck up from Mt. Hersey bringing a number of folks in it to the party, said he thought they he would never get home that night. He wasn't one of them that got a dose and was sick, but if someone didn't yell 'stop', and jump off to run into the woods on one side of the road, they were hollering 'whoa' and running off the roadway into the woods on the other side. Moans and cursing could be heard all up and down the roadway from our house to Mt. Hersey at the Buffalo River. Later, everyone at the river gatherings was saying it was the best time they ever had. They laughed uproariously about it all as they reminisced time and again, however, that particular night, there were a bunch of unhappy folks as they tried to make it on home.
 

Puma

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Now, Jay, if this is to spark more interest in western SYW, why, oh why, did you post this here?

I think because of all the stories and movies about rustlers and wranglers we may sometimes forget that life went on in the old west much like it did in the east. This is a good example of that. Thank you for sharing, but I have to ask, did you get any of the Croton oil? Puma
 

J'Dubee

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Puma > had I gotten a dose of the oil, no one would be sayin' I'm full of something.

I kept this out of Western SYW so it wouldn't be critiqued. My cousin and I write each other, disregarding all spelling and grammar... jes lack we speechify.
She's a real corker. This is part of a chapter from a series of essays she's leaving to her friends and relatives. She's a couple years younger than I and I found her on the internet. This Ozark event happened in the summer of 1943. Things used to change slowly in the hills.

Kind of a reminder that some of those rip-snortin' shoot-em-ups might need a tad of society doin's to give the hero a breather for findin' an outhouse or reload his twenty shot-six shooter.

Oh! And by mentioning Western SYW here, mayhaps any lost souls reading this will mosey over to WESTERN SYW.
 
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Puma

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My compliments to the two of you for leaving your memories for your younger generations. We do a bit of that in my family, but I wish the generation before me had done more of it. I have so many questions now I wish I'd asked. What's that old saying "Too soon old; too late smart". Puma
 

HarryHoskins

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Hey, JD! :)

Any chance you could get your cuz to send you a version with some paragraph breaks in it?

Be more fun on the eyes then. :)