The old man from Maine carried on a one-way conversation with Cindy as I unloaded the truck at our local dump. I could overhear snippets as I emptied the garbage cans:
Commenting that every president who does a stint in the White House comes out gray-haired: “I bleach my hair blonde; otherwise, it would all be white.”
On a piglet his family raised as a pet when he was a boy: “Well, then my mom named her Sally, after my dad’s old girlfriend. She’d stand outside and holler, “Fat Sally, Fat Sally,” with a smile on her face, until that fat sow came waddling up from her sty for a meal. That pig would follow us into town. We had this summer kitchen outside with a couch where Sally would rest, waiting for the scraps, when Mom was cooking. Finally, one day we came home and Sally was gone. My parents never told us where she went.”
On Hurricane Carol in 1954: “Hurricane Carol blew the whole crop down — 4,000 Macintosh apple trees. Dad called up his friend at the cider mill, and his friend said, “Jim, I’m firing up the mill right now. Get those apples to me.” We kids picked up apples off the ground all day and all night, I’ll never forget.”
He finally sputtered to a halt, overcome with that memory, as I finished unloading the truck. I climbed back in the cab, then said our goodbyes and headed back to the farm.
Hmmm. One might scratch the noggin and ponder whether the Rednex use the same dump… heard the same story ’bout ol Fat Sally the hog… and were inspired to pen their little jingle on Fat Sally Lee. Long odds perhaps, but I like ’em. Taint every day you get a Fat Sally hog in the same narrative as Hurricane Carol. You live a well rounded life.
So long as we’re scratchin’ our noggins up here north of the river – I have to wonder if the photo is of a few of your hogs. The front one seems to be wandering in front of a Jimson weed. If it has any sense it will leave that particular weed alone.
Now where did I leave that Rednex cd??
Swedish Country electronica? What in the world are you Ohio farm boys smoking?
Smoking?? No, smoking is how I’d describe the Rednex’ lead singer Scarlet. But I will admit that their take on being a red neck is ‘out there’; funny, irreverent, and out there. I’ve always imagined that the authentic red neck really doesn’t take life too seriously, and so European electronica poking fun is just so much more to add to the larder of experiences. And the packaging helps.
🙂
Keep writing. I enjoy your posts.
Thanks, Jefferson.
He is graciously feeding a Mama and 5 kittens too. We saw them Friday as we stopped to drop trash on our way out of town. That made him a good guy in my book.
Yep, he covered the kittens during his “conversation”.