Roger's Ramblings

Hi everyone, back again. Last week we finished an 1800s story that lasted since the first of January. I want to thank everyone for joining Roger’s Ramblings each week as we galloped back together into the past and relived the life of a couple before, during, and after the civil war.

Now about this week and the future, how about a few short stories? Before we start, I would like to give you some insight into myself. I have spent a lot of time by myself. My parents had tens of thousands of egg-laying chickens when I was a kid. Coming home from school at a young age, I would immediately go to the egg house and carton eggs until nine or ten o’clock each evening.

When I got older, I was the chief chicken house cleaner during the summer months. We had a WD 45 Allis-Chalmers tractor with a rear beater New Holland manure spreader. I would fill it up load after load using only a wide pitchfork scooping chicken manure, filling it up, and then driving it out to the field and spreading its contents. Hundreds of mice were under the crusty manure, and snakes were a common occurrence. Oh yes, many of our black snakes were seven feet long, and they were very healthy! Sometimes I thought they were so long they had two zip codes!

On one load, I had a fist-sized rock mixed into the manure, and when I drove out to the field and turned the beaters on, the rock flung out and smashed my head. I started bleeding like a stuck pig. I took my t-shirt off, wiped the blood off my face, and continued. (Back in the 1960s country folks didn’t go to the doctor unless it was important.) Today kids have cell phones, computers, and video games and nothing to do but run around all the time. Folks, that was not the way it was for me! In order to melt away the many hours of work each day from sun up to sun down, I would imagine everything!

From being a pony express rider to a stagecoach driver during the 1800s to being able to fly like a buzzard. (We didn’t have bald eagles back then like we do now) I loved horses and 1800s history, so much of my imagination was of the old days. I was also a reader and read all Dan Frontier books at school. If you can remember these books, you are ancient like me! One day at school during recess, we were playing softball, and a couple of boys were having a healthy discussion about whether he was safe at home or not. I heard the comment, I am safe, and you know it! No way the other boy argued when pigs could fly, “Mmmm,” I said to myself, “this will give me a new adventure to imagine when I go home after school today.” Whoa, up -- we must stop already! Next week we are going to relive the days when pigs could fly!

Grandma’s, round up your grandchildren and share next week’s rambling with them! Next week will be fun. I can hardly wait!