CHANGES

1-19-11...CHANGES

Winter evenings when I was growing up consisted of Family time. We did everything together. In our house that included Brenda and/or her Brother Paul. We all watched TV, after we got one, or played some game that we could do on paper. We improvised to play checkers on a board someone thrown away and coke bottle caps and buttons.. A cousin who was in the Army came in on leave and brought us a Chinese Checker game that entertained us many a cold night at the Kitchen table. Someone gave us some Jig saw puzzles once and we all did those together while eating popcorn or parched peanuts. I don't really know what Families do now but I suspect it is nothing like we did 60 + years ago.

Sometimes Brenda and I made Fudge on Friday nights and we all shared the goodies together. I can still taste that old fashioned fudge. Not a bit like the fudge we all make today.

On summer evenings we played outside until dark where we found lots to do but Oh My those cold winter evenings stand out in my mind more.

Brenda and I had stayed out one night to a smidge past dark and we concocted a plan to scare the pants off everyone else inside. We were going to scratch on a screen and run a stick over the drop siding in the back of the house. Now Mamma and Daddy knew us well so somehow they had already figured out we were up to something. When Daddy glimpsed us heading to the back of the house he decided to beat us at our own little game.

It was a little darker than we really wanted it to be and that was a problem right away. As usual Brenda was hanging on to me and she said, “Clydene let's not do it, I wanna go in”. “No Brenda come on now you said you would help me, Now Come On”. Well since Brenda wasn't about to turn loose of my arm she reluctantly tagged along. First thing we did was look around for a good stick. Brenda wasn't about to do that either so here I was all bent over looking for a stick with her hanging on to my arm. “Brenda turn loose of me”, I whispered. That only made her hang on tighter. Brenda was always there to help me but only because she was grown to me somewhere. I wasn't afraid of much anything so it irritated me a bit because Brenda never corp orated with me. I was digging around on the ground and we must have looked funny with me bent over and Brenda hanging on. Daddy was standing just a few steps away and he got tickled. He tried to be quiet but snickered which Brenda heard. I heard it too but I thought it was Brenda. “Brenda shut up someone's gonna hear you”. Brenda didn't answer me but Daddy snickered again. I still thought it was Brenda. I guess Daddy decided we saw him and he started toward us. Brenda saw him move but I didn't. She was still grown to me and she was going to run. Now Brenda was a coward but she was strong as a bull and she was moving on dragging me behind her. She fell with me on top of her but she still held on like a vice. Daddy saw that she didn't know who he was so he said, “Girls”. He was still laughing and this time I heard him and knew it wasn't Brenda. Now I'm scared and I'm gonna move too. Brenda was heavier than me but this little big britches got up with Brenda dangling on my arm like a bracelet and tore outta there like all the Demons of Hell were after me. Daddy was so tickled by now that all he could do was beat his legs and laugh. In nothing flat I was in the front of the house going up on the porch. “Where'd that thing go Brenda”? “I don't know Clydene lets get in the house”. Just then Daddy walked up on the porch and we could see who he was. “Daddy there is something in the back yard and it's after us. Hurry lets get in the house”! Daddy was still tickled but trying to straighten up because he saw now how scared we were.

It took a while but we finally got it all sorted out and we understood that it was only Daddy. He felt bad for scaring us so bad and told us he was sorry to which Mamma said, “Well Girls you got the tables turned on you didn't you”? It took a while for us to live that down. The boys told everyone they saw after that and we sure took some ribbing. That was one time my bravery fizzled out on me by golly!!