Smoke Signals and other news
Memories of fall as a child include gathering of fall crops such as cotton and the smells that went with it. If you know that aroma memories flash back when you encounter it. Personally, I only hand-picked cotton a few times. I was young and apparently wasn’t very good at it and dad had “sharecroppers” who handled the bulk of the crop gathering. Mom, dad, and my brother also shared in the gathering of the crops. I remember the white fluffy treasure being gathered in sturdy “cotton sacks” that often required repairs typically done during the off season. The cotton was loaded into a wagon and eventually into the back of dad’s truck with side rails where it was packed as tightly as possible and taken to the gin where the large vacuum like tubes collected it into the gin. Occasionally, I got to watch the process.
The falling of the leaves, the cooler temperatures, the start of school (usually in September), the football games that I sometimes got to attend all blend into my memories. School was something I loved, not just for the learning, but for a chance to see friends. Although I live in the same general area I grew up in, then it was considered pretty far out in the country – the road so narrow one car had to pull over to allow the one you were meeting to pass. Passing cars were so infrequent, my cousin and I would run from the barn where we were playing to the front just to see the car. Tree limbs from each side of the road met over the road in many places. There was little gravel.
I have been blessed to find an honest, talented young man who is actually willing to work for a decent wage and do the things I can no longer do. While I can and do cut my grass, keeping the mower in good running condition and weed eating is outside my abilities now. He prefers to work outdoors no matter the temperature. He has accomplished a great deal, cutting trees that needed to come down and cleaning up the remains, cleaning the few remaining flower beds, removing scrub bushes, and repairing and painting sheds. Our lastest adventure includes beginning to clean out those sheds. One had developed a roof leak and the mess it created was rather nasty. It is now repaired and things that were damaged tossed. We have found some things I had no idea what had happened to and some things I had no idea I had. Some things I remembered as being in those sheds are nowhere to be found. My Douglas was forever buying things at yard sales and Goodwill that might be of use in the future. He often didn’t even remember all the things he had bought.
I was able to return to work in the office some this week after a week of being so very ill. I was so far behind on paperwork, but finally we are back on the ball fields with adult coed softball mostly on Thursday nights and kid’s soccer mostly on Friday nights. Come and see us for some free entertainment and great food from our concession stand.
I would love to report your news. Call or text me at 901 246-8843, message me on Facebook at Clair Wagg, or email me at jchwagg@gmail.com.