|
|
Boys will
be boys - and also troublemakers by Delbert Trew
|
|
Ever
do something you hoped your parents never found out about? Since both
my parents are deceased, I offer the following incidents from my early
life.
In about 1940, we had a large, gentle sow on the
farm that always brought a large, healthy litter of pigs to life.
She was my father's favorite. In the period between January and April,
the sow become vicious and was finally sold because of her strange
behavior. It was a puzzle to Dad as he never connected her actions
to the new Daisy BB guns my little brother and I received for Christmas
that year.
About the same time, we owned a huge old Leghorn
rooster that dominated the entire farm. His sharp bill and sharper
spurs dealt misery to everything in his path.
After a particular indignity to my brother and I, we concocted a plan
of revenge.
First, we set a trap baited with grains of wheat. Next, we filled
a large eye-dropper full of whiskey found beneath the seat in an employee's
car. The trap fell. With a gunny sack in hand and oversized leather
gloves, the dose was administered.
Dad and Mother discussed the rooster's antics for days and finally
laid the blame on the dogs.
Then, there was the huge pet bull snake that no
one was allowed to kill because my father believed he helped keep
rattlesnakes away. He became so used to or maybe so disgusted with
my brother and me carrying him around that he quit hissing.
We derived continuous enjoyment watching the antics of people finding
the snake in strange places.
Considerable damage was incurred to the old fuel truck when employees
hit the side of a cattle guard while returning to work.
It seems the big bull snake raised up out of the toolbox carried between
the seats. Both men bailed out of the truck before the crash. This
is where Don and I learned to hold a straight face at all times.
In later life, when we purchased a ranch in New Mexico, we inherited
a foreman whom no one liked. Dad was puzzled when the man quit and
moved in two days. He never knew about the empty Coke bottle inserted
beneath his horse's tail the day before. The resulting bronc ride
was of professional quality and enjoyed by all the neighbors gathered
for roundup.
As a father of four ornery sons and uncountable greats and grands,
I know a lot more than they think, but I don't think my folks knew
about these incidents.
© Delbert Trew
"It's All Trew"
- May
14, 2005 column |
|
|
