People Are Funny
It was dark in the back yard at 401 North Davis Street in Pampa, Texas and we had just nearly jumped up on the porch because somebody had cried out, "There is something out there!" I had the flashlight and as we huddled close to the door, Lonna Jean said, "Splash that Light over here; I have a splinter in my finger." I was laughing because I didn't know whether to turn the light beam on her finger or throw a glass of water. Late 1962 or early 1963 found me in Huntsville Alabama, at Jovena and Bobby's. Really, I was stretching their hospitality, to the limit. The kids would gather on the small couch in the kitchen and we would look at books and magazines. The scene presented in a Life magazine was of prisoners of war in Castro's Cuba. Jim was pre-school about five years old, as he said, "Why did Castro put those football players in prison? Did they loose the game?" We had driven over to the Brazos Bend State Park when Felicia was about four, to see the Alligators . There were deer walking around, and lots of squirrels. Felicia stood in the seat between Dot and I as she blurted out "I want to see the Addigators and Armapillos". She learned to read from Sesame Street, but did not hesitate to create her own vocabulary. Dot and I took the kids to the zoo one time and as I walked to the entrance with Claude Allen; her nephew, I asked him "Claude Allen, do you like the zoo"?. Claude Allen looked at me and said "Uncle Claude, I love the Zoo ; I just can't stand those "Stinking Animals". Granny used to tell of the winter in Pampa, when Granddad drove her to town to do some Christmas shopping. Granny said, "I just stepped off the curb onto those red brick pavers, and that's when I commenced to cutting Didoes, halfway across the intersection. Dot and I were in Monroe Michigan in 1972 and as I walked from the jobsite on the packed snow, my feet slipped as fast as I could put them down. I landed on my wallet. Gary was out in my front yard awhile back when I was cleaning up some tree branches. His cell phone began to make music and he turned it on and answered, "Hello, yeah this is Gary Morgan, I'm at my brother's house, right down the road; OK, Alright." I asked him, "Who was that, somebody looking for you?" He replied "I don't know." I said "Who has your' number?" He said, " Nobody, I don't even know the number, I just have the phone for emergencies."
by Claude Morgan