Hogs and Chickens

Being raised 16 miles from the nearest town and with both of my parents being in their 40’s when I was born I learned from an older generation which I’m very grateful for. Two of my sisters were there when I was young, but since my parents worked all the time on our little farm/ranch and my sisters had their own things to do  I learned from an early age to entertain myself. My main playmates besides the dog and the outside cats were the pigs and the chickens. My favorite game with the pigs was this. I would hide behind a shed or a pig feeder and when the victims came along I...

An Independent Lady

My Grandma Light, my mom’s mother was a very independent lady.

My Dad always said she didn’t especially like men. But she delighted in me when I was little. She showed me off like a prized pig to all her card playing buddies. I made the rounds with her to…

The Training

When I was little my Dad didn’t want me to be squeamish, like some of the men he served with in WWII. He especially didn’t want me to be upset when I was eating by somebody saying something, so the training started when I was very young. He told many stories about his army buddies in the mess hall and how they delighted in making someone ill by telling some terrible tale of terror. If they could make someone get up and leave their food, it made their day. He was always preparing me to be tough in the face of anything that came along. I can remember when I was very young pushing...

A Favorite Niece

Facebook is always asking about something and the other day it asked it you had a favorite niece? I replied I had many nieces and nephews that were all important to me.  I was fortunate to be born with a nephew and a niece already older than me. My nephew Darryl made it clear to me when I was small that when I was visiting I was his cousin not his uncle or there would be dire consequences.   My niece Jacay and I always, always got along. I can’t recall a cross or a bad word passed between us our entire lives. She was one of those special people who was always interested and...

Bald Spot Rub

When my kids were younger, they would go by me when I was sitting down at my chair and rub my then smaller bald spot. I would warn them that I had pulled the same stunt many times on my dear old Dad. He would always say the same thing, “Your  day will come, your day will come.” I would laugh and laugh as my hair was long and being the smart intelligent boy I was I knew that science was on my side. I was awake in science class that particular day when Mr. Hendrickson had informed us that our hair gene came from our Mother’s side of the family. My mother’s people all...

Wait 5 Minutes

If you don’t like the weather in Ol’ Montana wait 5 minutes. This old saying around these parts holds true as long as my memory serves me. One minute it can be 100 degrees, the next the wind and the hail can come and the thermometer reads 50. You can have a bright sunshiny day in the middle of the winter and a North wind will start blowing and the temperature can drop from a balmy 20 above to 10 below or worse. All of this can be accompanied with blowing snow and blizzard conditions. Then the Wind Chill, what should I say about that. When I was a kid no one knew anything about...