As i got older, I used to go to my Moms on the weekend and she would tell me stories about her childhood that were truly amazing, Just to give you an idea what Moms life was like. Mom lost her Mom when she was a very young girl, I don't believe Mom was a teenager yet when her mom died. Mom was taken in by her aunt and uncle who were in charge of a labor camp and she was put to work to help out around the camp. Mom had to wash clothes for the workers and she had to wash them in the creek and or river by hand . There were other chores she had to do also. They probably broke all our present day child labor laws. I used to hear the same stories from her and Dad over and over and to tell you the truth, i never got tired of hearing them. Moms life as a young girl was pretty rough. For Mom to live the life she did and come out the person she was, Is a testimony to her strength and character. Mom had a pretty rough life, but things changed for the better when she met Pop, The thing is, they still went through some pretty rough times. but at least they were together. I tried to remember all their stories, so i could tell them to the young folks,To give you an idea of Moms strength and character. I remember one time Mom told me this story about when her and Dad lived up on the levee over at Knaggs ranch. There was just the two of them living in a mobile home on the top of the levee. Dad was the ranch foreman. Mom told me one night they were home and this guy comes over to the house and tells my Dad that he was fishing out by the river and he couldn't get his car started, he said his battery was dead and asked if my Dad could help him, and my Dad being the good guy that he was, told him he had a battery that he would let him borrow, if he brought it back the next day, and the guy says sure. ( yeah right ) My Mom didn't like the idea of Dad going by himself with this guy, so she told them that she was going with them, So my Dad gets the battery and puts it in the trunk of the car and my Mom goes and gets her pellet gun that looked like a 45 pistol and puts it under her apron and when she gets in the car she moves the apron to the side to make sure the guy sees the gun. Mom said the guy got real nervous when he seen the gun, and he was nervous the whole time that they drove him over to the car. especially since Mom was sitting right behind him. I would have payed to see the look on that guys face when they were driving him over to his car, and i wonder what he was thinking. I guess you can't blame the guy, but he never brought Dad his battery back. At least he has a story to tell his Grandkids.
When i was a teenager my Mom used to drive to the store and stuff, but that was about it. She never got her drivers license, but she was a pretty good driver. Once we left Colusa, she quit driving altogether. My Mom hadn't driven in years when her and Pop lived up on that levee at Knaggs ranch. Well there was this one time when they were living there that Dad got real sick, Mom thought he was having a heart attack. It was raining cats and dogs and it was just a terrible night to be out. Mom figured she had to get Dad to the hospital real quick, so she told Dad she would drive him. Now my Dad said he didn't want her to drive, but he thought he might be having a heart attack also, so he agreed. They had a big car at the time and i believe it was that big Buick they got from Ernest. Mom had to back that car up and turn it around on the levee, and drive all the way to the hospital in Woodland. Dad said he was scared half to death, because Mom couldn't see the road real well and kept getting real close to going off the side of the levee. Come to find out Dad didn't have a heart attack, but he said he almost did on that ride to the hospital.
I remember we used to have these big water fights. I think Dad was the one who would always start them by wetting one of us kids when he was watering the plants. Before you knew it, we all got involved, even Mom and Dad. I can still remember the look on Mom and Dads face as they watched everyone having fun. Kids and grownups running around chasing each other with glasses of water and even a water bucket, or the water hose, anything that had water in it. Now those were some really fun times. Member you member. Those were the days when i would come home late at night and find kids laying all over the living room floor. I would step over one and end up stepping on another ones hand or something. Mom and Dad liked them big houses, that way they could fit more kids/people into them, One thing about the kids though, was that they all knew that you just didn't mess with Mom and Pop, because if you did something they didn't aprove of, you would have the whole family down on you. Mom was the disciplinarian, Pop was there to back her up, and we all knew when Pop had to get involved, you were in big trouble. Sometimes i can be like Mom, and sometimes i can be like Pop. It just depends on what my kids did, and how serious it was.
I always enjoyed sitting out on the porch on a summer day and drinking Moms ice sun tea. Man that had to be the best tea ever, and she always had plenty of it in the refrigerator. Sitting on that porch on a summer evening with a beer, ice tea, soda or whatever your preference was, just made for a great evening. The kids would be running around the house or playing in the front yard. Playing crack the whip or tag or volley ball, or some other made up game, and all the adults would be shooting the bull on the porch. That house was perfect for our family. We didn't need cell phones,loud music,hand held nintendo games, etc. We had it all going on right there. We are a family and a darn good one, and i feel blessed to be a part of it. Thank you familia
