Memories

I remember once when I was about 7 or8 years old, I was sent to Cazel's store to get a gallon of milk. Milk came in glass containers and a gallon of milk was heavy. As I went home, carrying the milk, I started swing the gallon in tine with my steps. Well centrifugal force finally took over and the gallon flew out of my hand, smashing on the sidewalk. It was quite a mess. I walked home, empty-handed, sure that I was in big trouble. I told my dad that I dropped the milk. He asked where I dropped it and did I clean it up? I told him I had not. Dad got a broom and dust pan and a pail of water. He said "Let's go clean it up". No harsh words of hoe could I do such a thing. Just "Let's go clean it up". After we (really, just Dad) swept up the broken glass, he washed the milk away into the grass and the mess was taken care of. Then, he asked me if I thought I was strong enough to carry a gallon and I said I could. He gave me some money to buy a second gallon and sent me back to Cazel's. I felt redeemed. You better believe that was very careful toting that gallon home.

Speaking of Cazel's store. it was an old-fashioned corner grocery store. There were shelves along the walls with canned goods, a butcher counter where various cuts of meat were on display and a cashier's counter where you would bring your purchases to be rung up. Next to the front door were wooden barrels with bulk items including dog kibbles. My brother, Bob, had a fondness for the dog food and each time we went out he would grab a handful and eat them on the way home. I guess he liked the taste. It was a treat for him.

Football
When Bob was in high School,and I was still in Jr. High, he played on the football team. One spring, he broke his collar bone. In those days, he was put in a plaster cast from mid chest to the wrist of the affected hand. (I don't remember whether right or left.) That meant that he was unable to lie down or get up without assistance. So, I became his care taker. Of course, I reminded him of all the times he had bullied me and made him ask politely and say 'please' and 'thank you' before I would help him. When anyone was around, I was the soul of caring when he needed help. My reign was short-lived and Bob made me pay, many times over, when he healed up.

Summer on the porch.
During the summer when it was hot and humid, my parents set up two bunks in the pack porch on the second floor where we could open the windows and catch the evening breezes. We would lie in bed and watch as thunderstorms grew in the distance. The lightning flashes, bright in the darkening sky to the west. We could smell the approaching rain and loved the cooling breezes and wait until the last moment to close the windows. More than once, we got wet before we got the windows closed. If we were still awake when the storm had passed, we'd rush to open them again and breathe in the fresh cool air.