A Father’s Legacy
In 2004, my daughters gave me a book called “A Father’s Legacy”. Inside the book there was a preprepared question at the top of each page to be answered by the recipient of the book. I took the time to write in my answers to the all the questions. I recently found the book and read it. Some of the answers may be of interest to others. I would like share some of the questions and my responses herein. You seniors out there need to leave a piece of yourself for others to enjoy after you’re gone.
A Father’s Legacy
Q1.”What was the gutsiest thing you ever did? Why Did you do it?
Answer
‘I didn’t do too many gutsy things. When I was going to Texas Tech College, a friend of mine and I decided to get some beer and go to the Drive In movie. After the movie was over, I drove back to the campus with several beers left in the car. I must not have come to a complete stop at a stop sign and I saw a campus cop turn on his flashing lights across the intersection from me. I was in my 1954 Pontiac with a straight eight engine. Rather than get caught with the beer, I floor boarded the Pontiac and burned out of there. By the time the campus cop had turned around, we had ditched the beer and were off campus. I drove around to the other side of the campus and drove back to my dorm and parked the Pontiac. I was afraid he had made me so I hid the car between two trucks and didn’t drive it for three weeks. No repercussions ever resulted.’
Q2. “List one special memory about each of your brothers and sisters.”
Answer
‘My brother Craig and I went hunting a lot, I can remember one cold winter day it was about 10 degrees F. We went duck hunting and knocked down 10 or 12 ducks in the deeper water out beyond our decoys. Old Craig stripped down buck naked and swam out and got every one of those ducks in the icy water. When he came out of the water with the ducks, he was red as a beet all over and shivering. It’s a wonder he didn’t catch pneumonia. Shortly after that, he bought a Labrador Retriever and trained him to get the ducks for us.
I can remember one time when I was seven years old, I followed my sister JerrylDine, who was nine years old, to the barns located behind the Phillips Camp area and stayed gone several hours enjoying the animals until our frantic parents finally found us. I tried to blame it all on JerrylDine so she would get all the punishment, but it didn’t work out that way. We both got our butts warmed with a belt. I still say it was her fault.’
Q3. “Did you ever milk a cow or spend time on a farm in the country? Tell me about it.”
Answer
‘I was needing spending money when I was sixteen, so I went to the unemployment office to look for a job. They had some work at a chicken ranch west of Borger, Texas. I got out there and they had two long buildings about 50 yards long in which they kept the chickens. There was about 6 inches of chicken shit on the floors of both buildings. Two Mexicans and I shoveled and hauled chicken shit in wheel barrows for 12 hours. We were covered from head to toe with chicken shit. I had a pair of leather loafers that stunk so bad I had to throw them away. The wages they paid me weren’t quite enough to buy me a new pair of shoes.
There were two other guys debeaking chickens by burning off 1/4 inch off of their top beak. The burning beaks smelled like burning feathers all day. I vowed I would never ever shovel chicken shit again.’
This is another example of the future value of documenting some of your adventures. I have already enjoyed reading the stories again myself. Stories like these will be enjoyed by many generations of family in the future.
The book my daughter’s gave me in 2004 That I filled with my responses.
My sister JerrylDine and I about the age we ran off to the barns.
My brother Craig and me with the ducks he retrieved. He still looks a little pink from the swim.
Thank you for reading A Father’s Legacy,
Hawg Jaw Bill