A collection of true childhood stories from the south in the 60s.
E-Book, Englisch, 192 Seiten
ISBN: 978-1-09-834860-1
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet/DL/kein Kopierschutz
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Episode 5 The Catfishermen Kids had little to worry about in 1964. At that time unlocked doors and keys left in cars were common. People were trustworthy. On a sunny January afternoon, a game of kickball had just broken up in the back yard of the friend from down the road. The older players went about their day, leaving Dan and his friend to decide what to do next. They might walk among the cow paddies seeing who could push the other into a fresh one, bomb each other with dirt clogs in the bare winter field, walk or ride the bicycles to town; too tired and too late for that. As the boys thought about their next move, they found themselves wandering down an old, seldom traveled turpentine lane in the forest. Without letting anyone know, they simply kept walking. Finding themselves now deep into the woods, they realized that their adventure had begun, but neither boy said anything, just kept walking hoping to prove their bravery to each other. That strange feeling of needing permission or to tell someone what they were doing slowly disintegrated. Silently, they each thought, “If I get into trouble, it was his idea. What if we both get in trouble?” The curiosity of what lie ahead caused the mental anguish to disintegrate as well. In January each year, areas of the forest were selected for burning. The boys had learned by listening to their dads that the next week they were going to burn the woods. For those who do not know what burning the woods is all about, we now pause for a short lesson. Every year or two, selected forest areas were intentionally set afire. Foresters came with a big plow attached behind a bulldozer and created a large trench around the designated area to be burned. The fire’s purpose was to keep the forest free from underbrush and to prevent the valuable pines from becoming overcrowded, competing for light, air, and nutrients. Additionally, these burns helped prevent unexpected forest fires. Today it is called a controlled or prescribed burn. The boys and their dads would walk the fire lines while the burn was in progress to make certain the fire did not cross the line. To the boys this was a big job because if the fire crossed the line, the entire world could quickly burn down. Dan’s entire world mostly consisted of Utopia and Nashville, Georgia, a mile away. Walking among those hot flames was a thrill. Rice Krispies were nothing compared to the snap, crackle, pop, and bang of all that brush inside the flames. The idea was that the flames would burn to the center of the area and then die down. After the fire died down, everyone would go home, bathe, and go to bed. All except one, maybe two people would stay up all night walking round and round the trench line making sure the fire stayed within the trenches. The boys would stay as long as possible. The parents would eventually return to drag the two young, tired, brave firemen away from the fun. The boys knew that the next day they could ride their horses along the trenches that now surrounded newly scorched, smoldering earth. These rides turned into chases like crazed bandits. If they could get other horse riders in the area to come join, the chase was even more grand. The horses would lunge across fallen trees and trench puddles at top speeds, bonuses above the usual bareback ride. That’s another story. Now mid-afternoon, two little shirtless boys wearing cut off jean shorts set off down the turpentine road that curved and twisted through the deep forest. The boys had no fear because each boy was relying on the other and his knowledge of the woods. The fact was, neither boy knew their exact location, and both were being led by their imagination and curiosity. Directly in front of Dan’s house, across the road, past the pecan orchard, past the corn crib, and past a cow pasture near the back of the forest just before reaching the swamp, was a green moss covered paradise of sorts. In the center of the moss was a small pond. The boys had found it some time back while riding horses through the tall brush. It became today’s destination. Cows had made paths all through those woods searching for fresh pads of grass. One of the many paths would lead to the pond where the cows refreshed themselves. Many other animal tracks could also be found along the muddy shore. The boys were unable to decide which path would lead them to this mysterious place. The turpentine lane had ended, and they had to choose. After much confusion, debate, and back tracking in every direction, the little boys found the paradise pond. Upon seeing the path opening up at the spot just ahead, they both felt extreme relief. At last! They began to approach slowly, quietly and cautiously. No boy wanted to startle a bear, fox, panther, wild hog, or any other possibly rabid animal. They were also uneasy about coming upon an escaped prisoner. Neither had heard anything about an escaped prisoner. Neither knew why a prisoner might be there, but it added some extra scary excitement to the adventure. And why wouldn’t an escaped prisoner or some other desperado hide out here in these deep woods by this little pond surrounded by thick, soft, green grass? The area was circled by tall pine trees. The sun was shining down through the opening in the pines right onto the pond surface. There was lots of Irish moss and many frogs and tadpoles. The soft, green moss surrounding the pond reached from the water’s edge about twenty or thirty feet before the blackberry briars, bushes, and trees draped the area making it quiet and serene. The breeze made a soft whistling sound as it stirred through the needles of the tall pines. The scent of pine and fresh grass filled the air. The depth of the water was unknown and neither of these two boys intended to find out that day. A baby alligator was known to live in the pond a while ago. Both boys had seen it while riding horseback behind someone much older, and both thought about how alligators can grow to become really big. Potential danger was all around, but danger was not considered on this afternoon. It was time for catching frogs and tadpoles. At this age, catching frogs and tadpoles was a primary summer pastime for rural southern boys. Catching frogs was simple. Tadpoles were a bigger challenge, but after you catch a handful, the water leaks through the fingers and you’re left with a hand full of wiggly, tickling tads. The tadpoles became boring. With the alligator out of sight and mind, the two boys took up fishing for tiny catfish they sighted coming to the surface for air. They made fishing poles from tiny branches pulled from the bushes. Who would have thought a little fish would actually bite that branch but it did and was quickly caught by the tail. Catfish must like chewing gum because that is what was used for bait. Another catfish was caught, and the fishermen agreed they must “string up” the cats before they headed home, snapping a small twig from a bush. They decided they should catch some tadpoles to go with the cats. A can what was what was needed. Scanning the area, they soon found three rusty cans. One of the cans had enough remains of a label to reveal it had once contained beans. There was silence as the little wheels in each boy’s head began to whirl and imagination joined the mix. Cans, beans, escaped prisoners, hungry escaped prisoners, hungry escaped prisoners returning and finding two little boys alone in the deep woods. Hungry, mean prisoners dragging a big witch’s brew type pot. Lots of water in the pond. Maybe they had more beans and would need some meat for the pot and a roaring fire underneath. Going home immediately became the priority as they realized it was only a short time from being dark. Really dark. The boys thought they may not have been missed and no one would be searching for them while convincing each other the prison gang was on their heels. It was getting late and it had now been discovered that a little boy was missing from each home. Neither household suspected the boys would ever wonder off into the woods alone. They knew they might ride away on bicycles, but the bicycles were at home. They searched all the cow pastures and fields and dirt roads. They were not on horseback. The horses were grazing in the pasture. The big scare was not where the boys might have wandered to, it was the fact that they were always home before dark. They called all the neighbors expecting that someone had seen the boys walking along the road. This was a tight community, and everyone looked out for each other but no neighbor had seen either boy since the time when the kickball game had ended. As the sun began to set, the fear factor heightened in the minds of four parents, and just a little bit in the little boy’s brother and the friend’s three sisters. The flashlights were out and everyone within a mile was wondering where the two boys might be found or even if they would be found. The warm South Georgia day had turned into a very cool evening and the boys had begun traveling at the fastest rate their legs would carry them. Fear and hunger were telling them they should have been at the table long ago. Hunger was affecting their minds, too, and they circled around and back to the moss pond three times as briars and limbs pierced their feet, legs, and arms. Finally finding a trail barely visible in what was now official darkness, they became silent. Concentrating on the trail, they began to think staying in the woods might be the favorable alternative to showing up...
