I would gladly accept the grease lamps again just to be served one of those good cooked meals Ma prepared on the old fireplace with her skillet and lid. We didn't have any pushbutton utilities in the old days. We didn't have any screens or windows, and at meal time the flies would invade the house by the thousands. I have seen the flies so thick on a pone or corn bread you could not tell if it were corn bread or a dish of flies. We would fan off the flies and eat the bread.

BOYS WILL BE BOYS

Children not raised on the farm do not realize what they miss. We always had young horses or mules to ride and bull yearlings to rope and ride. I always had to over do the fun and look for trouble. One day Pa came in and told Ma that he had just bought a two seated hack, and now they would have a way to go to church. Shortly thereafter my cousin came to visit us. As soon as he and I inspected the hack, he said "You know, we sure could have us a good hack ride today if you will help me run that two year old bull into the stable. We'll make a rope harness for him, and we'll hook him to the hack while your Pa is in town." I was only to glad to assist him with the bull. It didn't occur to us that the bull might run away or otherwise tear up Pa's new hack. As soon as we had managed to hook up the bull to the hack, my cousin handed me the reins and told me to climb in. Before my cousin could get into the hack, the bull became frightened and began to run, buck and bellow. He ran down through the pasture until he broke loose from the hack. The hack was going so fast when he got loose, that the tongue stuck into the ground. I was skinned up but, I didn't mind that as much as I did the thought of the punishment I would get when Pa came and found his new hack torn to pieces. Sure enough when he got back from town he thrashed both my cousin and me. I made a promise to never again get in trouble.

HARRISON'S BAD BOY

The next day Pa had to leave the farm to attend 

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