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School was out for the holiday break, here it was the 24h of December and the year already sucked big time. About the only thing good about the third grade, was getting to use an ink pen, and new teacher was younger and cute. Lessee so far the original teacher had become ill and this new younger one had replaced her. In November The President had been killed in Dallas. Mom had been ill and today a new baby girl was being brought home. The kid sat at the counter at the diner and the younger waiteress brought him his breakfast. Yeah well sure this was supposed to be a big deal for a kid…strings, always a string attached.
There was already another baby brother sib, staying at the Aunt and Uncles, so whoopee I’m a big brother of two, not a kid, I guess when I get older I get to be a kid. Oh didn’t mind growing up fast, learning stuff because I had to, just wanted some kind of respect, just every once in awhile would be nice.
Heck, I didn’t ask for much, I pulled my own weight, pitched in, I didn’t even ask for stuff-rarely anyway. So then, the deal was the dad always worked and let us know that it was for the family, ok sure, some years later some fancy word was learned and explained it better. Other dad’s worked and had families, they had time for stuff. I had been instructed to go to the diner and get breakfast, given a hard dollar to do so…oh no..that beating for staying out past what agreed on …nope…not gonna buy into it. I wanted to finish the project for the widow women, I still think I was right. I mean the dad said it was ok, when men shake on something its a done deal , what he said, what other men said...arrghh. Put that damn dollar back on his dresser and got my own money, emergency money, matter of principle, maybe not an emergency, but a fella has to have principles.
“Surgar, you okâ€. Yes ma’am, just didn’t sleep well, I replied. The deal was I was to stay at the diner until called and the new baby sis was home and settled. The real deal was the waitress was gonna say I was in the bathroom, and she would relay message. In the meantime I was gonna hide behind the gas station and watch. Time it right ,see mom, lil sis…and wait for my uncle to come get me. The dad most likely would rush off to work…the neighbor would be there , neighbors did stuff like that. I hated holidays.
Eighty-five cents bought eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, milk, juice and hash-browns. Coffee was free, figured I’d have a nickel left from my hard dollar, a gentleman tips good service. I hopped off the stool and went to the register to pay. The owner was making coffee and nodded to my waitress, she handed me back two bits. “Ma’amâ€,…she interrupted. Listen “surgar†I know that is your money, got a good idea what is going on, we want to do this. The owner came out. “ I figured you would get really pissed if you didn’t pay your way, but we all know what your going through, seen what you been doing for the widow woman. Oh here almost forgot and no argument you hear?â€. He stuck a box of 22 shells in my hand Crap, “Thank you sir†is all I could say.
So the old Dodge passed by and I saw a newborn baby girl, umm. girls made different, I grab a cloth diaper, hadn't los tmy touch I see, err,umm perhaps... getting sprayed less of a problem with her than a brother, it woud appear, we'll see...
Uncle showed up and off we went. He had banged his fist and said a curse word before he came back to the truck, I pretended I didn’t see …I knew what had happened inside with mom, his sister.
One of those quiet rides where nothing said but much communicated. The dog went nuts when we pulled in, and as always he sat and waited for the peppermint he knew I always had for him, the candy cane sorta surprised him tho’.
Saw my Aunt, the girl cousins and the baby brother, at least they had a real living and breathing doll to play with. I headed to the shop out back.
Smells of gun oil, sanded wood , and that smell that only shot-shells and cartridges have. I see my uncle had finished the oil finish on the two stocks we refinished. I see he corrected my sanding mistake my cramped fingers goofed up too, boy I learned a lot about fine sandpaper and steel wool. Go s-l-o-w and easy, “walk down†he said. ( I wasn’t supposed to tell that story around ladies tho’.) Humm, these '06 cases are neat and shiny...that box of shogun shells look new and that box is the "wrong size" *shrug*.
“Ready to shoot, already to go, you know where the ammo is, and here is some hot chocolate in the thermos when you wantâ€. I grabbed the 22 single shot rifle first and headed to the safe area, with the dog. Targets were set up already, I guess Uncle knew me pretty good. The dog just sat on his haunches and watched me work the bolt , get the breathing right, squeeze the trigger and be surprised by the shot. I retrieved the target and the dog looked it over looked at me and barked, wagged his tail and gave me that dog grin of his…yeah I was grinning too, shoot we both needed peppermint after that little fun deal.
Uncle said “ hey target must have moved on that one, your past pulling a shot you know?†He took a bite from his cigar , started chewing the cigar and put the rest back in his pocket. “you know there are some quail down on past….I’m gone! The dog and I, with an old vest full of shells and a single shot 20 ga were long gone by the time he finished his sentence.
“Where is that boy†my Aunt asked …a faint “boom†was heard before my Uncle could answer I’m told. “ Nevermind, you mentioned quail and he was off like a shotâ€. Grinning, my Uncle replied “Yepâ€. It was a given where that dog was.
The boy returned, and with what appeared to be a dog. Well the boy went to the shop, pulled an oiled patch through the bore first. Got out his yellow handled Case Trapper Uncle had given him, last year and set to task. Focused on the job to be done he didn’t notice the dog was missing,when Uncle re-appeared later the dog looked like his usual self, the quail and doves were sitting in a pan of water.
The boy washed up, and Uncle tossed him a Field and Stream magazine, “You’ll like Ruark this month, I’ll take care of this since you took care of supperâ€. The boy went to the shop to read, a fella can’t read with all that girl racket going on. When he was awakened by the giggly girl cousins, he had a blanket atop him, the magazine was on the loading table…must have dozed off. “ did I fall asleep and Uncle cover me with a army blanket†he asked the dog “woof woofâ€â€¦figures.
Good thing them girl cousins were picky eaters, more quail and doves for the men-folk. Must have gotten it from the Aunt…who eats toasted peanut butter sandwiches over fresh game anyway…girls are just plain weird. Lil bother found a pc of shot, he he, I got his portion…â€he’s been sick, maybe he needs that lil kid food†I said…Uncle just grinned, he knew what I was doing, not stopping me either.
I headed ot to the shop with the dog, Uncle was coming out in a bit , something about a reloader and something about 28 ga something “ I might like†…huh, what is 28 ga ? …I guess it’s ok, well see. Now to finish that Ruark article….
There was already another baby brother sib, staying at the Aunt and Uncles, so whoopee I’m a big brother of two, not a kid, I guess when I get older I get to be a kid. Oh didn’t mind growing up fast, learning stuff because I had to, just wanted some kind of respect, just every once in awhile would be nice.
Heck, I didn’t ask for much, I pulled my own weight, pitched in, I didn’t even ask for stuff-rarely anyway. So then, the deal was the dad always worked and let us know that it was for the family, ok sure, some years later some fancy word was learned and explained it better. Other dad’s worked and had families, they had time for stuff. I had been instructed to go to the diner and get breakfast, given a hard dollar to do so…oh no..that beating for staying out past what agreed on …nope…not gonna buy into it. I wanted to finish the project for the widow women, I still think I was right. I mean the dad said it was ok, when men shake on something its a done deal , what he said, what other men said...arrghh. Put that damn dollar back on his dresser and got my own money, emergency money, matter of principle, maybe not an emergency, but a fella has to have principles.
“Surgar, you okâ€. Yes ma’am, just didn’t sleep well, I replied. The deal was I was to stay at the diner until called and the new baby sis was home and settled. The real deal was the waitress was gonna say I was in the bathroom, and she would relay message. In the meantime I was gonna hide behind the gas station and watch. Time it right ,see mom, lil sis…and wait for my uncle to come get me. The dad most likely would rush off to work…the neighbor would be there , neighbors did stuff like that. I hated holidays.
Eighty-five cents bought eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, milk, juice and hash-browns. Coffee was free, figured I’d have a nickel left from my hard dollar, a gentleman tips good service. I hopped off the stool and went to the register to pay. The owner was making coffee and nodded to my waitress, she handed me back two bits. “Ma’amâ€,…she interrupted. Listen “surgar†I know that is your money, got a good idea what is going on, we want to do this. The owner came out. “ I figured you would get really pissed if you didn’t pay your way, but we all know what your going through, seen what you been doing for the widow woman. Oh here almost forgot and no argument you hear?â€. He stuck a box of 22 shells in my hand Crap, “Thank you sir†is all I could say.
So the old Dodge passed by and I saw a newborn baby girl, umm. girls made different, I grab a cloth diaper, hadn't los tmy touch I see, err,umm perhaps... getting sprayed less of a problem with her than a brother, it woud appear, we'll see...
Uncle showed up and off we went. He had banged his fist and said a curse word before he came back to the truck, I pretended I didn’t see …I knew what had happened inside with mom, his sister.
One of those quiet rides where nothing said but much communicated. The dog went nuts when we pulled in, and as always he sat and waited for the peppermint he knew I always had for him, the candy cane sorta surprised him tho’.
Saw my Aunt, the girl cousins and the baby brother, at least they had a real living and breathing doll to play with. I headed to the shop out back.
Smells of gun oil, sanded wood , and that smell that only shot-shells and cartridges have. I see my uncle had finished the oil finish on the two stocks we refinished. I see he corrected my sanding mistake my cramped fingers goofed up too, boy I learned a lot about fine sandpaper and steel wool. Go s-l-o-w and easy, “walk down†he said. ( I wasn’t supposed to tell that story around ladies tho’.) Humm, these '06 cases are neat and shiny...that box of shogun shells look new and that box is the "wrong size" *shrug*.
“Ready to shoot, already to go, you know where the ammo is, and here is some hot chocolate in the thermos when you wantâ€. I grabbed the 22 single shot rifle first and headed to the safe area, with the dog. Targets were set up already, I guess Uncle knew me pretty good. The dog just sat on his haunches and watched me work the bolt , get the breathing right, squeeze the trigger and be surprised by the shot. I retrieved the target and the dog looked it over looked at me and barked, wagged his tail and gave me that dog grin of his…yeah I was grinning too, shoot we both needed peppermint after that little fun deal.
Uncle said “ hey target must have moved on that one, your past pulling a shot you know?†He took a bite from his cigar , started chewing the cigar and put the rest back in his pocket. “you know there are some quail down on past….I’m gone! The dog and I, with an old vest full of shells and a single shot 20 ga were long gone by the time he finished his sentence.
“Where is that boy†my Aunt asked …a faint “boom†was heard before my Uncle could answer I’m told. “ Nevermind, you mentioned quail and he was off like a shotâ€. Grinning, my Uncle replied “Yepâ€. It was a given where that dog was.
The boy returned, and with what appeared to be a dog. Well the boy went to the shop, pulled an oiled patch through the bore first. Got out his yellow handled Case Trapper Uncle had given him, last year and set to task. Focused on the job to be done he didn’t notice the dog was missing,when Uncle re-appeared later the dog looked like his usual self, the quail and doves were sitting in a pan of water.
The boy washed up, and Uncle tossed him a Field and Stream magazine, “You’ll like Ruark this month, I’ll take care of this since you took care of supperâ€. The boy went to the shop to read, a fella can’t read with all that girl racket going on. When he was awakened by the giggly girl cousins, he had a blanket atop him, the magazine was on the loading table…must have dozed off. “ did I fall asleep and Uncle cover me with a army blanket†he asked the dog “woof woofâ€â€¦figures.
Good thing them girl cousins were picky eaters, more quail and doves for the men-folk. Must have gotten it from the Aunt…who eats toasted peanut butter sandwiches over fresh game anyway…girls are just plain weird. Lil bother found a pc of shot, he he, I got his portion…â€he’s been sick, maybe he needs that lil kid food†I said…Uncle just grinned, he knew what I was doing, not stopping me either.
I headed ot to the shop with the dog, Uncle was coming out in a bit , something about a reloader and something about 28 ga something “ I might like†…huh, what is 28 ga ? …I guess it’s ok, well see. Now to finish that Ruark article….
