9-22-08...CHILDISH FEARS
There were two ladies that I came in contact often whom I was very scared of. They were (how do I phrase this?) Huge, old, slightly 'different'. They both walked everywhere they went. One of them walked up the road every morning while we were standing at the school bus stop. She usually just went on by not even glancing at us, which suited us just fine. This one morning she stopped right in front of us and just stood there looking at us. We were probably shaking so hard our teeth were rattling. As usual, Brenda grabbed hold of my coat tail and held on. She whispered, Clydene whats she'a'gonna do. Shhh! Brenda, be real quiet and still, maybe she wont see us. Now how stupid was that thought? Of course she saw us! And boy did we see her. I guess because of her size and age she wheezed and grunted as she walked along. Well here she was wheezin' and gruntin' and splutterin' so close to us that we imagined we saw fire coming out of her mouth and ears just like a dragon. Clydene we better run. Yep, lets go. She was standing there taking up the space we needed to use to head out and so we started backin' up. She spoke. The first time we had ever heard her voice and let me tell you that put the fire in our britches and we backed up fast. Brenda its a witch, it's a witch. Brenda froze in her tracks and she had a death grip on my coat tail so I didn't move as fast as I wanted to. Brenda, turn loose of me, come on. well Brenda just got a tighter hold on my coat and wrapped her other arm around my neck. Now I was splutterin' and gruntin' worse than that lady was. About that time we heard water runnin'. we looked and there was a big stream of water comin' down from under her long dress and hittin' the ground. There were little muddy droplets bouncin' up from the ground and steam comin' up with it. "SHE'S A FIXIN' TO BLOW FIRE OUTTA HER DRESS BRENDA, COM'ON. By then Brenda was shaking so hard she turned loose of me about the time I pushed her backwards. We both went sprawlin' backwards right in to the ditch behind us head over heals. Brenda went in first and me right on top of her in to the ditch about half full of cold water. Heck we didn't even feel the cold water. Brenda got hold of me again and almost choked me to death. I threw my arm backwards and hit her right in the mouth. She had a loose tooth and that dad burned thing got its self pulled right then. She still didn't turn loose of me, she was moaning and groaning and almost sounded as bad as that lady did. We were flat scared outta' our ever lovin' goards!! Well that lady just finished up her steamin on the road and looked once at us and grunted and puffed on up the road like she didn't see us shakin' there in that ditch. We heard the bus honkin' as we tore out down the road toward home. We liked to have never made our Mama's understand that there was a fire blowin' kid eatin' witch up there and it pushed us in a ditch and flew off on its broom. It took our Mama's even longer to make us understand what had really happened. Seems they knew about the lady and she did that all the time. Just stopped when the urge hit her and let the fire fly, so to speak. She didn't come that way again while we were standing there and one day Mama said that the lady had fallen up on the corner and broke her hip. It took 4 strong men to load the poor thing in the back of a pickup in the rain and haul her to the hospital. She never walked again to my knowledge. I feel so sorry about what happened to her now, but at the time I was about as scared as I ever had been before or maybe since. I kid you not, I'm sittin' here almost shakin' outta the chair right now just remembering it. Scared the stuffins outta me!!!! Hey I gotta go to the bathroom right now. Yep, good thing Brenda don't have her grip on me now. I'd have'ta take her with me. YEP!!!
