The Gathering Room

This email from sister, Helen, is priceless...and brought a chuckle..I think you will enjoy it as well.we all have our memories some more special than others..Enjoy!

By Helen Page... The Wild Cat Catastrophy

( also known as The Adventures of Helen and Carol)

This am, Helen's email started calmly enough.......

"I just viewed your ornaments of “Oz” and remember how year after year the girls would tune on the t.v. for the Wizard of Oz movie. It was always on one of the holidays, seemed like in the fall. Not so many programs on the t.v. then and they always looked forward to watching it. "

But memories came flooding back....
"I was listening to the radio the other day and folks were calling in about unusual foods they ate when they were children. I remember the “butter/sugar sandwiches”, and how I would take a single slice and fold it over after spreading it with butter and sugar. Also, in the spring pulling rhubarb, sprinkling it with salt to eat; and green apples (before they had a chance to ripen) shaking salt on them to eat. I especially remember walking through the woods (after drinking what I thought was spring water from the field tiles), picking gooseberries to eat and any other berries like black berries, etc. I would wander through the woods alone searching for the berries , flowers, enjoying being there. Cannot imagine doing it; didn’t have any fear at all and probably no one even knew where I was at. Also walking through the creek near the quarry; picking off the blood suckers without any fear of them.
.......and it gets better yet....
 A memory that stands out is the day that Carol Knittle and I went into the barn behind Kenny Myers and found a black cat that we decided to bring home for a pet. There was a burlap bag laying on the floor that we decided to bring the cat back home in. Somehow we cornered the big old cat and got him into the bag. Dragged it from Kenny Myers place to our house,brought it into the house to get it some milk to drink. Mom was busy in the kitchen getting supper on when we turned it loose, unknown to her. All Hell broke loose; I remember vividly the cat walking on the ceiling and it looked much larger than I thought it was when we saw it in the barn. It was wildler than wild; ended up behind the big old piano that was in the living room at that time. Mom came in screaming, waving a broom all over the place. She had to be wondering how this wild cat got into the house and I think that Carol and I were paralyzed in fear of not only the cat but what Mom was going to do to us once she figured out how the cat got in there. It was a sight to behold indeed; Mom pursued the cat until it finally got out the front door. Carol and I still thought we could tame it with some milk to drink and took a bowl out under the neighbors tree where the cat had climbed into the top. We sat out there until it was time for Carol to go home; next morning the cat was gone to our disappointment.
I do not remember Mom saying much about it and I think she and Dad probably had a good laugh when all was said and done."

(   Helen, I think I  am  laughing

 at this point ...oh my gosh!..soooo funny! )

so let's continue......

  (The Wild Stallion Scare)

Carol died a few years ago from ALS disease; I sent a write up about this adventure to her mother along with another one when we decided to take an apple and brown sugar to John Miles stallions. Ended up that time getting chased to the 2 spindly trees at the end of the field; then running to the fence, diving under it just in time. I was sooooo scared; and had lost one of my shoes before going under the fence. What a dilemma; once the horses retreated, Carol went back under the fence and got it for me. This also was a turning point; we then decided we would get a horse of our own; after all we had a field and a garage it could live in. We knew we would need money to buy the horse so figured out we could raise chickens at our place, sell the eggs to buy the horse. Of course I would have to “sell” Mom on this and it was shot down in a nanno second. At that time also, Mom was given a tapestry by a relative that her mother had; it was a drinking scene. Carol was fascinated by it and when Mom saw this she immediately took it to the basement; she didn’t want the Knittles know she had such a picture in her house...what would people think! I heard back from  Mrs. Knittle; she read my write up to Carole's sons and families and they loved it. Carole was so brave in her illness; I heard from her several times before she died.

Thanks for making me smile today sis...

♥ I love how you write ♥