Back in Nickerson, I bet the Mulberry tree is getting ready to spew it's harvest of the deep purple fruit on the ground. Catalpa Beans, Walking Stick Cactus and the Mulberry tree are forever ingrained in my memory. When I can not sleep at night, I often go back in memory to the house at 709 Strong Street. I guess it was safe then. It was momma's job to meet all my needs. There was always something to eat 2 or 3 times a day. We had electricity, but we did not use it very often. Mostly we used an oil lamp because we were afraid we would wear the electric wires out or burn out the bulbs.
We had a sign that went in the front window for the iceman. We could get a 10 or 20 pound block by placing the sign so the amount we wanted appeared right side up to the man on the road. He would take his tongs and grab the block and bring it inside and put it in our ice box. And that was what we called it, "ice box". Momma always left the ice man's money on top of the ice box.
The door was never locked and I am not sure we even had a key. If we did it was a skeleton key and it would lock and unlock our door and every other door in town. If we lost it we could get another at the hardware store. About the only time we ever needed to "lock up" was when the wind blew the door open. Oh, yeah, and when the Gypsy's were camped outside of town. Gypsy's were always camping out side of town. We never seen them,but word spread fast when they were there, because the came to steal the children. If it wasn't the Gypsy's after us, there was a pack of wild dogs attacking the children. I do not know how any of us survived what with the Gypsy's and wild dogs after us all the time and in all fairness I must say, I do not remember anyone ever losing a child to anything except measles or diphtheria or something like that. Oh, there was the incident of a man backing over his child with the car. But no Gypsy's.
There were 8 of us living in a five room house. We heated in the winter with a wood stove in the front room and a wood cook stove in the kitchen. The pump for water was out back and it was the highlight of our live when we finally got a pump inside! It was one that did not need primed and we could get a drink of water anytime we wanted one. It was attached to a big sink that drained out the back of the house and onto the ground. This was the favorite gathering place for the Muscovy ducks. They were nasty creatures, but they laid eggs and foraged for themselves so we kept them. I had 4 of them when I had my flock and I got rid of them because they could fly and they would roost on my air conditioning unit. Nasty birds.
The cactus was on the north side of the house towards the road. It was wild and unattended and you did not go near it without shoes. It's sole purpose in life was to make me miserable. There were 2 Catalpa trees in the front by the road. One was friendly and easy to climb. I spent many hours in it's branches dreaming about the day I would be grown and able to leave this place. The other one was full of small branches and no way could we climb it. Both of them produced big long green beans which I always thought we should be able to eat, but no way. I do not know if they were poison or not. When they dried out we could smoke them. Or so we thought. I lit one once and forgot to blow out the flame before I sucked on it and pulled the fire into my mouth. Not a very bright move on my part and one that no doubt scarred me for life in more ways than one!
On the north side of the house about midway to the currant bushes stood the Mulberry tree in all it's glory. Mother always promised that if we would pick a pan of Mulberry's she would make us a Mulberry pie. I do not remember ever getting a pie, but neither do I remember ever picking a pan full of Mulberrys either. I do remember climbing into the tree and birds attacking me. I remember walking barefoot through the berries on the ground. I do remember purple feet and hands and a purple ring around my mouth and I do remember Josephine screaming at me and whacking me with the broom for "tracking that damned mess" into the house. There is a Mulberry tree up on South Road that I see throwing it's fruit on the road and I am so tempted to stop and pick a handful, but I have not done that yet. Maybe this year I will!
Maybe this year I will stop and pick a few and stand there and fly away to a time and place that will restore my soul and fill the empty place in my life. Just maybe.
We had a sign that went in the front window for the iceman. We could get a 10 or 20 pound block by placing the sign so the amount we wanted appeared right side up to the man on the road. He would take his tongs and grab the block and bring it inside and put it in our ice box. And that was what we called it, "ice box". Momma always left the ice man's money on top of the ice box.
The door was never locked and I am not sure we even had a key. If we did it was a skeleton key and it would lock and unlock our door and every other door in town. If we lost it we could get another at the hardware store. About the only time we ever needed to "lock up" was when the wind blew the door open. Oh, yeah, and when the Gypsy's were camped outside of town. Gypsy's were always camping out side of town. We never seen them,but word spread fast when they were there, because the came to steal the children. If it wasn't the Gypsy's after us, there was a pack of wild dogs attacking the children. I do not know how any of us survived what with the Gypsy's and wild dogs after us all the time and in all fairness I must say, I do not remember anyone ever losing a child to anything except measles or diphtheria or something like that. Oh, there was the incident of a man backing over his child with the car. But no Gypsy's.
There were 8 of us living in a five room house. We heated in the winter with a wood stove in the front room and a wood cook stove in the kitchen. The pump for water was out back and it was the highlight of our live when we finally got a pump inside! It was one that did not need primed and we could get a drink of water anytime we wanted one. It was attached to a big sink that drained out the back of the house and onto the ground. This was the favorite gathering place for the Muscovy ducks. They were nasty creatures, but they laid eggs and foraged for themselves so we kept them. I had 4 of them when I had my flock and I got rid of them because they could fly and they would roost on my air conditioning unit. Nasty birds.
The cactus was on the north side of the house towards the road. It was wild and unattended and you did not go near it without shoes. It's sole purpose in life was to make me miserable. There were 2 Catalpa trees in the front by the road. One was friendly and easy to climb. I spent many hours in it's branches dreaming about the day I would be grown and able to leave this place. The other one was full of small branches and no way could we climb it. Both of them produced big long green beans which I always thought we should be able to eat, but no way. I do not know if they were poison or not. When they dried out we could smoke them. Or so we thought. I lit one once and forgot to blow out the flame before I sucked on it and pulled the fire into my mouth. Not a very bright move on my part and one that no doubt scarred me for life in more ways than one!
On the north side of the house about midway to the currant bushes stood the Mulberry tree in all it's glory. Mother always promised that if we would pick a pan of Mulberry's she would make us a Mulberry pie. I do not remember ever getting a pie, but neither do I remember ever picking a pan full of Mulberrys either. I do remember climbing into the tree and birds attacking me. I remember walking barefoot through the berries on the ground. I do remember purple feet and hands and a purple ring around my mouth and I do remember Josephine screaming at me and whacking me with the broom for "tracking that damned mess" into the house. There is a Mulberry tree up on South Road that I see throwing it's fruit on the road and I am so tempted to stop and pick a handful, but I have not done that yet. Maybe this year I will!
Maybe this year I will stop and pick a few and stand there and fly away to a time and place that will restore my soul and fill the empty place in my life. Just maybe.
