10-21-08...OH MY GOSH NO!!!
We had basketball in our school. No football or anything else. We had activities at gym period when basketball was out of season but we mostly practiced basketball year around. When we had games away from home we went on the school bus. In juinor high (in the same building as Senior high) we had white suits with red letters. They were old and many others had used them over the years. I loved my uniform. Button up long tailed top, bloomer like bottoms. The shoes were like tennis shoes but had high tops and we bought them ourselves. Anyway I took my suit home after a game and Mama washed and ironed it up real nice for me. She also kept it mended when needed. Brenda and I would walk up to the bus stop just like we did when we were going to school and wait on the bus. Then we walked back down the lane home when we got back.
One evening we were getting things ready to go on a ball trip. Mama had not felt well so I had ironed my suit and hung it up on a hanger. I noticed that both buttons were loose and in need of fixing but I just ignored it. I could only find one safety pen so I told Brenda to bring one for me. OK she said I'll See you later. Some of the players had overnight bags to carry their socks and stuff in but we didn't have one so we used paper sacks.
I got all my things ready, hung my uniform over my back and hollered at Brenda to come on. Always had to do that. I don't remember where we went that night but it was way up yonder in the mountain. The school used a pot bellied stove and heated with coal. This was their fist time lighting it for the season.
When we got there and went to our dressing room I said, Brenda where is my safety pin. What safety pin? She answered. Now Brenda you know durn well what safety pin. You said you would bring me one. Well I sure don't remember that Clydene. We argued a bit more and asked but no one else had a safety pin either so I decided that one would hold my britches on for tonight.
We were in the middle of the first quarter and we were ahead which was an uncommon thing for us. Most of the other teams around were big ol' girls. (Daddy called em' corn fed) We were a'struttin' around there real prowd of ourselves. Now if you don't know already I'm here to tell you, those pot bellied coal stoves get red hot. I mean that literally, they turn red hot. It was heatin up in there real fast and we were all startin' to complain, even the home team girls. Their coach got up and was walking toward the stove I guess to shut the damper down when we saw what we thought was smoke comin' out toward the top of the stove pipes. Shoot I had the ball and I was about to pass it on to another girl so I wasn't paying much attention. Heck I'd seen stoves smoke before.
Brenda was a forward and I was a guard so we played on opposite ends of the court. Girls didn't play the whole court then. I heard her hollering at me, Clydddeeennneee, watch out. Well now what in the world is wrong with that girl. She knows we aint supposed to talk across court. Shut up Brenda!!! I raised the ball up to pass it to a girl and she wasn't there anymore. Well Good Grief. What tha' heck? When I had my arms in the air to pass the ball I felt the second button come loose. The other side that was pinned sure wasn't'a holdin' my britches up. Nope! They were down to my knees and still goin'. Yep I dropped my drawers right there. They were around my ankles and I bent over to pull em' up when I felt that dad blamed pin sticking me on the backside. I THOUGHT IT WAS THE PIN!!! But it sure nuff' wasn't a safety pin, Nosireee. It was a hornet!!!! Seemed like someone forgot to clean out the stove pipes before the stove was fired up for the first time. A hornet had built a nest in the pipe I guess and when it heated up they came out. Oh my Gosh, Oh my goodness. Come on Clydene lets go. She grabbed me and I started to run but my drawers were down there around my feet and of course I went down draggin' Brenda with me. Clydene get up and come on. Well durn it Brenda wait a minute, I can't go outside with my britches down. Brenda, Bless her heart, drug me across the floor to the dressing room and we got in there. Brenda, this is your fault. No it aint Clydene. Yes it sure is you didn't bring me a pin for my pants. We argued back and forth for a while about who's fault it was but now both pins were gone and we looked around and found out we were in the wrong dressing room. Brenda go get my clothes. I aint goin' out there Clydene and get stung, we'll just havta' wait. It seemed like hours later when we heard someone out in the gym hollerin' our names. Everyone seemed to have come back in and our coach and team mates were lookin' for us. Brenda opened the door a smidgen and peeped out. I had to use both hands to hold my britches up.
I was soooo! embaraced! Brenda finally went and got my clothes and I got dressed and went to the bus. Of course the games were over for that night. Seems no one really got stung very much. Guess those bees were a'tryin' to get out of there too. There were a lot of dead ones on the floor.
Now I guess you know I had figuered out by then that my pants falling down was my fault, not Brenda's. And the hornets weren't either of our faults. YEP. I told Brenda I was sorry and thanked her for helping me get away. YEP! I sure did, about a month or so later cause my Mama made me. HE HE!!!
