Hey All,
Yep, off work today and startin' to get a little cabin fever. May venture out today. Snowy days get me thinking of my childhood and Man-o-man, how times have changed!!!
I thought I'd share a funny story, true at that!!! ** I'm writing it half way** If I get a few positive responses, I'll finish it. If I don't get any positive responses or start to get negative ones .....I'll quit....I'll leave it as it is!!! Put your vote in!!!! Finish it or not!!! Pick one!!
Halloween of 1976: Part I
Growing up a country kid, I was accustomed and well informed on riding a school bus. There were un-written rules on who sat where. Basically, the older kids(9th-12th grade) rode in the back. The midle school kids(6th-8th) rode in the middle, with all the other little kids toward the front. That was the rules....pure and simple....middle school to litle kids...did not break them!!!!
Living in the country, I knew most to all the kids who rode the bus and they knew me. A lot of them were probably related to me somehow, someway.
Most knew that I hunted, trapped, and fished when I got a chance...especially coon hunting.
I was well versed with the country side for miles. I had free run, and all of the folk in a 10 square mile let me coon hunt on their property. Heck, my nearest neighbor lived 3 miles from me. I knew short cuts, I knew of old abandoned homesteads, I knew of old, one room country school houses and I knew alot of grave yards.....all by myself, with a .22rifle, and a few blueticks at the age of 12 in the middle of the night.
One Friday afternoon in October, riding home on the school bus. One of the big kids called out...."Hey Cohiba, I'll bet you $3.00 dollars you won't sleep in the Plesant Ridge Cemetery!!" "You know the dead talk and you can hear them on Halloween Eve!!" "Are you up for it??" Everyone knew where this cemetary was....heck the school bus drove past it every day.
The school bus was dead quiet when that challenge was raised. I sat there for a few seconds,my cousin setting next to me, looked at me and said.."If you do this, you know they'll try to scare you and make you run back home." "You won't get your money AND they'll make fun of you until Christmas!!" "Don't do it!!"
For 3-6 minutes I thought and came up with a plan!! I raised up out of my seat and told the big kids I'd take their challenge, but for $10.00!! The ball was now in their court and the challenge was put back on them!!!
10 minutes later, one of the big kids yelled back to me....."Okay, but tomorrow at 7:00p.m. we'll meet you at the cemetery, and pick the grave you'll sleep on!!" "BE THERE!!!" Now the whole bus knew of the challenege and I had to prove myself, my grade(7th grade-12yrs old) and show pride in my family name!! It was on!!
Saturday morning, October 30th. I had finished the chores(feed cattle and horses) and was sitting at the table trying to figure a way to break this to my parents, the event that was about to take place.
Dad was drinking coffee and sem-watching the morning news. Mom was in the kitchen cooking up bacon, eggs, and pancakes. It was time to inform them of my intentions....now or never.
At the breakfast table, I explained with determination and vigor my plans of making an easy $10.00 bucks!! I also mentioned that I was taking Ol Glassy(The most protective Bluetick we had) and my .410 pump shotgun so as to shoot it in the air to scare the big kids.
After I had explained this awesome plan, my Dad just sat there with a cup of coffee in his hand and my mother started to clear off the table. What seemed like....forever....my Dad finally said something.
Looking at me dead square in the eyes he stated...."Are you retarded??" Looking at my Mother he told her...."This type of thinking comes from her side of the family. NOT his!!" Looking at me with a puzzled look on his face, he spoke in a firm voice...."No guns!!' "Everthing else was okay-kind of-but no guns!!"
Later that evening, I got my bedroll, my lamp, and my courage. I walked 3 1/2 miles to the cemetery. It looked like a fairgrounds. There must have been 30 kids there. They got there on horseback, dirtbikes, bicycles, a few pickups, and a few even walked. This was THE EVENT!!!
One of the big kids opend the gates and we all walked into the graveyard. Most of the kids were asking me if I was scared, my cousin just looked at me like I was the biggest fool in Lincoln County. What few big kids showed up, they were looking for a grave for me to sleep on. Then they found it!! It was a baby's grave, a child who was born, lived only a few days, and had passed away in 1932. It was a small grave marker, white in color, with a sleeping lamb on top of it. That was the grave I had to sleep on!!
I unrolled my bedroll and then asked for my money. The big kids told me TOMORROW morning, when they come back to see me still in the grave yard, then and only then would I get my money!! I told them no-way, they were going to cheat me, and I wanted at least HALF NOW!!! 5-bucks in hand, cash on the barrel!! The big kids looked at each other. All of them dug into their pockets and finally scrounged up 5-bucks. The other 5, tomorrow!!!
Well, after about 30 minutes everyone started to leave me and go home. There I was all alone, by myself in this grave yard, sitting on a grave, on a cool and brisk dark Halloween Eve.***What everyone doesn't realize was I was well familiar with this cemetery....heck, I had lots of relatives and family friends in here. I had even cut through this graveyard many a time coon hunting. Scared?? Heck no..........but none of the big kids knew that!! ***** I also had a plan!!
Yep, off work today and startin' to get a little cabin fever. May venture out today. Snowy days get me thinking of my childhood and Man-o-man, how times have changed!!!
I thought I'd share a funny story, true at that!!! ** I'm writing it half way** If I get a few positive responses, I'll finish it. If I don't get any positive responses or start to get negative ones .....I'll quit....I'll leave it as it is!!! Put your vote in!!!! Finish it or not!!! Pick one!!
Halloween of 1976: Part I
Growing up a country kid, I was accustomed and well informed on riding a school bus. There were un-written rules on who sat where. Basically, the older kids(9th-12th grade) rode in the back. The midle school kids(6th-8th) rode in the middle, with all the other little kids toward the front. That was the rules....pure and simple....middle school to litle kids...did not break them!!!!
Living in the country, I knew most to all the kids who rode the bus and they knew me. A lot of them were probably related to me somehow, someway.
Most knew that I hunted, trapped, and fished when I got a chance...especially coon hunting.
I was well versed with the country side for miles. I had free run, and all of the folk in a 10 square mile let me coon hunt on their property. Heck, my nearest neighbor lived 3 miles from me. I knew short cuts, I knew of old abandoned homesteads, I knew of old, one room country school houses and I knew alot of grave yards.....all by myself, with a .22rifle, and a few blueticks at the age of 12 in the middle of the night.
One Friday afternoon in October, riding home on the school bus. One of the big kids called out...."Hey Cohiba, I'll bet you $3.00 dollars you won't sleep in the Plesant Ridge Cemetery!!" "You know the dead talk and you can hear them on Halloween Eve!!" "Are you up for it??" Everyone knew where this cemetary was....heck the school bus drove past it every day.
The school bus was dead quiet when that challenge was raised. I sat there for a few seconds,my cousin setting next to me, looked at me and said.."If you do this, you know they'll try to scare you and make you run back home." "You won't get your money AND they'll make fun of you until Christmas!!" "Don't do it!!"
For 3-6 minutes I thought and came up with a plan!! I raised up out of my seat and told the big kids I'd take their challenge, but for $10.00!! The ball was now in their court and the challenge was put back on them!!!
10 minutes later, one of the big kids yelled back to me....."Okay, but tomorrow at 7:00p.m. we'll meet you at the cemetery, and pick the grave you'll sleep on!!" "BE THERE!!!" Now the whole bus knew of the challenege and I had to prove myself, my grade(7th grade-12yrs old) and show pride in my family name!! It was on!!
Saturday morning, October 30th. I had finished the chores(feed cattle and horses) and was sitting at the table trying to figure a way to break this to my parents, the event that was about to take place.
Dad was drinking coffee and sem-watching the morning news. Mom was in the kitchen cooking up bacon, eggs, and pancakes. It was time to inform them of my intentions....now or never.
At the breakfast table, I explained with determination and vigor my plans of making an easy $10.00 bucks!! I also mentioned that I was taking Ol Glassy(The most protective Bluetick we had) and my .410 pump shotgun so as to shoot it in the air to scare the big kids.
After I had explained this awesome plan, my Dad just sat there with a cup of coffee in his hand and my mother started to clear off the table. What seemed like....forever....my Dad finally said something.
Looking at me dead square in the eyes he stated...."Are you retarded??" Looking at my Mother he told her...."This type of thinking comes from her side of the family. NOT his!!" Looking at me with a puzzled look on his face, he spoke in a firm voice...."No guns!!' "Everthing else was okay-kind of-but no guns!!"
Later that evening, I got my bedroll, my lamp, and my courage. I walked 3 1/2 miles to the cemetery. It looked like a fairgrounds. There must have been 30 kids there. They got there on horseback, dirtbikes, bicycles, a few pickups, and a few even walked. This was THE EVENT!!!
One of the big kids opend the gates and we all walked into the graveyard. Most of the kids were asking me if I was scared, my cousin just looked at me like I was the biggest fool in Lincoln County. What few big kids showed up, they were looking for a grave for me to sleep on. Then they found it!! It was a baby's grave, a child who was born, lived only a few days, and had passed away in 1932. It was a small grave marker, white in color, with a sleeping lamb on top of it. That was the grave I had to sleep on!!
I unrolled my bedroll and then asked for my money. The big kids told me TOMORROW morning, when they come back to see me still in the grave yard, then and only then would I get my money!! I told them no-way, they were going to cheat me, and I wanted at least HALF NOW!!! 5-bucks in hand, cash on the barrel!! The big kids looked at each other. All of them dug into their pockets and finally scrounged up 5-bucks. The other 5, tomorrow!!!
Well, after about 30 minutes everyone started to leave me and go home. There I was all alone, by myself in this grave yard, sitting on a grave, on a cool and brisk dark Halloween Eve.***What everyone doesn't realize was I was well familiar with this cemetery....heck, I had lots of relatives and family friends in here. I had even cut through this graveyard many a time coon hunting. Scared?? Heck no..........but none of the big kids knew that!! ***** I also had a plan!!
