The old highway that ran right through Herman Junction was a pretty popular course. One could take the old highway to the county line to the nearest liqiour store and was a lot less likely to run into a policeman than if he took the new highway. So, most people who wanted to buy liqiour came right through Herman Junction, sometimes both going and coming. Because of that there were a lot of wrecks on the old highway. I remember one night when a car wrecked smack dab in front of our house. There were two bridges in front of our house about 100 feet apart. One led up to Booie Woods house and the other was the bridge into our yard.
We were already in bed when we heard a terrible noise and people yelling and hollering right in front of the house. When we got out in the yard there was a fight going on and a car turned upside down in the ditch perfectly between those two bridges. Another car was sitting up on the highway and both cars were full of young men. One had been chasing the other when the first car lost control and into the ditch he went. No one was hurt and they were already out of the car and yelling and screaming at one another. I don't know if they ever exchanged blows or not because I was watching from behind the storm house and couldn't see everything clearly.
One wreck that I remember best did not involve drinking or chasing or anything like that. It just involved three boys being ignorant and having fun at the same time. My transportation was limited in those days and I either had to walk or catch a ride with somebody most of the time. Walton and Dalton Weaver didn't live far from us and they drove their Dad's truck to ball practice and to the games most of the time and would come by and pick me up. One time we had a batch of bad weather and school was not in session but Coach Pierce called us to ball practice anyway. The Weaver boys picked me up and then after practice they were going to drop me off at my house. There was snow and some ice on the road, especially on the edges. We met a car and had to get over on the shoulder to pass and as Walton started to pull back into the middle of the road the truck kind of slid sideways and that was fun! So, every time we came to a patch of snow and ice over on the side he would pull over there, give a little extra gas to pull back in the road and we would slide back and forth a little. You are ahead of me now and you know what happened don't you? One time he gave it a little extra power and that thing started sliding all over the place, slid just past a huge tree, down in the ditch, and turned over. We didn't like that much and in our efforts to climb out of there one of us stepped on the window of the side under us and broke that window out. We finally got out and as we walked on down the road to Herman Junction we kind of got tickled, especially as we developed our story about what had happened. We got my Dad's car and I took them home and thier Dad came and got the truck out. I don't know if either of our Dad's ever knew for sure what happened. When we all get to heaven we will tell them what the deal was.
But, things like this made Herman Junction pretty exciting at times. Ah, Yes, everything is OK at Herman Junction.
Friday, December 5, 2008
MUSCLE MAN: POST #37
When I graduated from Bay High School I was 6' 3 1/2" and weighed 153 pounds. When I was in the 7th grade I was 6' 3 1/2 and weighed about 77 pounds. I mean I was skinny. I wore one of Mom's garter belts for a belt and still had plenty of room to spare. I ate all that I could hold but it seemed like I could not gain an ounce and no girl was going to look at me because if she looked in my direction she would look right by me as if I was not there. I was gawky and gangly and I was tired of it but didn't know what to do.
One day I was reading a comic book of some kind and in the back there was an advertisement from Charles Atlas. It talked about this guy that so skinny and weak that the other guys would kick sand in his face and the girls all laughed at him. Then, it showed this guy after he had been trained by Charles Atlas and he was a HUNK! So, I wrote to Charles Atlas and told him that I would like his program but I didn't have any money so was there any way that he could send it to me anyway? He didn't.
I stayed that way all through high school. We would go to ball practice and I was tall but that was all. I couldn't jump very high either. I was the one who guarded Walton Weaver in practice and we were about the same height. He would shoot a jump shot but he would fall backwards and I would jump and miss blocking the ball by a mile. Coach Bob Pierce put me in the game one time to stop Leotis Shedd from Manila. I was in the game about three minutes and fouled out because all I could do was hit him and not block his shot. Finally, in my senior year I played a lot and had a good year but because I couldn't jump, Winston Holmes started every game to jump center and then I would go in.
When we ordered our basketball jackets that last year the Coach told the man to order me a size 46! It would wrap around me twice nearly, but he told the man that if I didn't put on a bunch of weight as soon as I got out of school he would be surprised because all my older brothers had done that. So, I had a coat big enough for me and Barbara to both wear at the same time.
But, you know what? By July 24, 1958 I weighed 210 pounds. By 1965 I weighed 290 pounds. And, Charles Atlas had absolutely nothing to do with it. Yep, I had followed the same course as my older brothers and put on the weight. Then came December 21, 1971 and I had a little heart attack and my Doctor said, "You can do what I tell you and you will probably live to be an old man, but if you don't YOU WILL DIE!" He was a good friend and a great Doctor and he explained it right. I lost almost 100 pounds and have battled every day since then to keep it off. It is a constant struggle. I have been hungry since December 21, 1971!
I will say this though, no one has ever kicked sand in my face! So, in spite of a lack of training from Charles Atlas I have managed to make it just fine. Barbara shot a glance my way one day and didn't see past me. She saw old Charles Atlas standing there! And, all has been well at Herman Junction since that day.
One day I was reading a comic book of some kind and in the back there was an advertisement from Charles Atlas. It talked about this guy that so skinny and weak that the other guys would kick sand in his face and the girls all laughed at him. Then, it showed this guy after he had been trained by Charles Atlas and he was a HUNK! So, I wrote to Charles Atlas and told him that I would like his program but I didn't have any money so was there any way that he could send it to me anyway? He didn't.
I stayed that way all through high school. We would go to ball practice and I was tall but that was all. I couldn't jump very high either. I was the one who guarded Walton Weaver in practice and we were about the same height. He would shoot a jump shot but he would fall backwards and I would jump and miss blocking the ball by a mile. Coach Bob Pierce put me in the game one time to stop Leotis Shedd from Manila. I was in the game about three minutes and fouled out because all I could do was hit him and not block his shot. Finally, in my senior year I played a lot and had a good year but because I couldn't jump, Winston Holmes started every game to jump center and then I would go in.
When we ordered our basketball jackets that last year the Coach told the man to order me a size 46! It would wrap around me twice nearly, but he told the man that if I didn't put on a bunch of weight as soon as I got out of school he would be surprised because all my older brothers had done that. So, I had a coat big enough for me and Barbara to both wear at the same time.
But, you know what? By July 24, 1958 I weighed 210 pounds. By 1965 I weighed 290 pounds. And, Charles Atlas had absolutely nothing to do with it. Yep, I had followed the same course as my older brothers and put on the weight. Then came December 21, 1971 and I had a little heart attack and my Doctor said, "You can do what I tell you and you will probably live to be an old man, but if you don't YOU WILL DIE!" He was a good friend and a great Doctor and he explained it right. I lost almost 100 pounds and have battled every day since then to keep it off. It is a constant struggle. I have been hungry since December 21, 1971!
I will say this though, no one has ever kicked sand in my face! So, in spite of a lack of training from Charles Atlas I have managed to make it just fine. Barbara shot a glance my way one day and didn't see past me. She saw old Charles Atlas standing there! And, all has been well at Herman Junction since that day.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
BIG MOUTH: POST #36
There always has to be a big mouth it seems and in Herman Junction I guess I was it. But, I am not talking about gossiping, carrying tales, etc. although I could have been guilty of that too I suppose. I am talking about a literal BIG MOUTH.
One time I had been to basketball practice and I was hot and tired so I stopped in at the Yellowjacket Cafe to have a Pepsi. That Pepsi tasted like heaven to me. There were two of three guys standing around and I said, "Man, I could drink 10 of these things!" One of those men told Harold Freeman, the owner of the Yellowjacket to bring us 10 Pepsi's. I suppose they were either six or eight ounce drinks. Regardless, 10 of them makes a lot of Pepsi! Ten six ouncers would make almost a two liter bottle full. They set them up there and said, "We want to see you drink TEN Pepsi's. It took me a few minutes to do it, but I did it. Then, I had to walk three miles to Herman Junction. I tell you, I was as sick as I had ever been in my life. I would walk a little bit and stop and throw up, walk some more and throw up again. When I walked I just sloshed around like a tub full of water. I'm sure that if people had been close enough to me as I made that awful journey they would have wondered what in the world was going on.
But, that wasn't enough for an ignoramus from Herman Junction. Sometime later I was in the Yellowjacket again and some other guys were standing around talking about who could put the most chewing gum in their mouth. Guess who spoke up and said, "I can put TEN packages in my mouth? You got it right, it was BIG MOUTH again. Junior Denton was home on furlough from service and he went in and bought ten packages of Wrigley's Spearment gum and brought them out and said, "Let's see you do it." Junior was a very handsome, tough, guy and I didn't want to cross him and I didn't have any money to pay him back for the gum. So I started chewing and they watched and laughed like a bunch of idiots. I put 51 cakes of that gum in my mouth and then quit. I chewed around on it for a few minutes then took it out of my mouth and threw it across the street and hit the railroad depot. It looked like that thing just rocked back and forth for a little while before settling down. I have often wondered what the person that found that huge wad of gum thought when they found it lying there. They may have thought that BIG FOOT had been there but it had only been BIG MOUTH.
I was working with a farmer one time and had never planted a row of cotton in my life driving a tractor. But, I had always wanted to! He asked me, "Can you plant a straight row of cotton?" I said, "Yes, Sir, I can do it!" I thought that he was going to drive his own tractor but he said, "Get on there and let's see what you can do." Why in the world don't I shut my mouth??
I got on that tractor and planted the straightest row of cotton that you have ever seen and planted several acres before I stopped. I know now that the Lord must have had charge of that steering wheel seeing to it that BIG MOUTH didn't get embarrassed again.
I have tried to do better in my adult years and have tried to be 'slow to speak.' But, I don't chew gum at all and haven't drunk a Pepsi in years. I have not been on another tractor either. Oh well, that's not to bad for a boy from Herman Junction where all is well today.
One time I had been to basketball practice and I was hot and tired so I stopped in at the Yellowjacket Cafe to have a Pepsi. That Pepsi tasted like heaven to me. There were two of three guys standing around and I said, "Man, I could drink 10 of these things!" One of those men told Harold Freeman, the owner of the Yellowjacket to bring us 10 Pepsi's. I suppose they were either six or eight ounce drinks. Regardless, 10 of them makes a lot of Pepsi! Ten six ouncers would make almost a two liter bottle full. They set them up there and said, "We want to see you drink TEN Pepsi's. It took me a few minutes to do it, but I did it. Then, I had to walk three miles to Herman Junction. I tell you, I was as sick as I had ever been in my life. I would walk a little bit and stop and throw up, walk some more and throw up again. When I walked I just sloshed around like a tub full of water. I'm sure that if people had been close enough to me as I made that awful journey they would have wondered what in the world was going on.
But, that wasn't enough for an ignoramus from Herman Junction. Sometime later I was in the Yellowjacket again and some other guys were standing around talking about who could put the most chewing gum in their mouth. Guess who spoke up and said, "I can put TEN packages in my mouth? You got it right, it was BIG MOUTH again. Junior Denton was home on furlough from service and he went in and bought ten packages of Wrigley's Spearment gum and brought them out and said, "Let's see you do it." Junior was a very handsome, tough, guy and I didn't want to cross him and I didn't have any money to pay him back for the gum. So I started chewing and they watched and laughed like a bunch of idiots. I put 51 cakes of that gum in my mouth and then quit. I chewed around on it for a few minutes then took it out of my mouth and threw it across the street and hit the railroad depot. It looked like that thing just rocked back and forth for a little while before settling down. I have often wondered what the person that found that huge wad of gum thought when they found it lying there. They may have thought that BIG FOOT had been there but it had only been BIG MOUTH.
I was working with a farmer one time and had never planted a row of cotton in my life driving a tractor. But, I had always wanted to! He asked me, "Can you plant a straight row of cotton?" I said, "Yes, Sir, I can do it!" I thought that he was going to drive his own tractor but he said, "Get on there and let's see what you can do." Why in the world don't I shut my mouth??
I got on that tractor and planted the straightest row of cotton that you have ever seen and planted several acres before I stopped. I know now that the Lord must have had charge of that steering wheel seeing to it that BIG MOUTH didn't get embarrassed again.
I have tried to do better in my adult years and have tried to be 'slow to speak.' But, I don't chew gum at all and haven't drunk a Pepsi in years. I have not been on another tractor either. Oh well, that's not to bad for a boy from Herman Junction where all is well today.
THE CRAZY DOCTOR: POST #35
When one has a bunch of kids there is a greater need for a Doctor not only to bring them into the world but to keep them as healthy as possible. Dr. Burge delivered me and I am sure that I had to see him some after that, but I do not remember him. The Dr. that I remember most as a child was Dr. Tullos from Truman. While we didn't go to the Dr. as much as folks do nowadays, I do remember going to him from time to time. I remember not wanting to go to school one time and I really put on a show professing to have a terrible belly ache. They kept me home and took me to see Dr. Tullos and for some unknown reason Mom did not go into his office with me. So, he couldn't find any appendicitis or anything like that and told me to go on home. I went straight to the car and told Mom that he told me to go home and eat soup and drink cokes to help settle my stomach down. We went and got that and took off home and I had a fine day drinking cokes and enjoying my holiday from school. I was not more than 9-10 years old when that happened and it's OK for a feller that young to tell one once in awhile and I was pretty good at it Ray tells me.
But, the story that I enjoyed more than about any concerning Doctors was about something that happened before I was born. Mom told me this story not too many years ago. It seemed that Dad needed to go to Truman for something and Mom had the four oldest boys and they decided to go to Truman too. While Dad was inside some place attending to his business Mom and the boys just sat in the truck. Shortly, Dr. Tullos came out of his office and started walking down the street. Mom had the windows down in the truck and as he walked by she said, "Do you remember these boys?" He stuck his head through the window and looked them over and said, "Sure, I'd know those little old Morgans anytime!" Mom replied, "Those aren't Morgans, they're Knights." The good Dr. thought that she was Bill Morgans wife and those were the little Morgan boys. I guess that it might have been easy to get mixed up when delivering babies in big families like that in those days. Mom set him straight on that real quick.
Mom had to spend about four weeks in a rehabilitation unit before she passed away. I had some really good times with her while she was in there. One day we were sitting talking and a Doctor walked by and she said, "Well, there goes old Pusservin." I asked her what she said and she told me and I found out that she had just given him a new name for some reason. My Lady and I went to Indiana for me to preach in a gospel meeting and before we left I sent Mom a card to the Rehab unit. On the return address I wrote, "Burt Reynolds, Hollywood, Calif." When we came back from Indiana we stopped at the rehab place to see her and I said, "Mom, I've been to Indiana to preach." "Why, you have not," she said, "You've been to California, Burt." She loved aggravating the doctors but she was dead serious when Doctor Tullos thought that my four older brothers were Morgans.
What memories and how they bless my life and help me to know that all was well at Herman Junction.
But, the story that I enjoyed more than about any concerning Doctors was about something that happened before I was born. Mom told me this story not too many years ago. It seemed that Dad needed to go to Truman for something and Mom had the four oldest boys and they decided to go to Truman too. While Dad was inside some place attending to his business Mom and the boys just sat in the truck. Shortly, Dr. Tullos came out of his office and started walking down the street. Mom had the windows down in the truck and as he walked by she said, "Do you remember these boys?" He stuck his head through the window and looked them over and said, "Sure, I'd know those little old Morgans anytime!" Mom replied, "Those aren't Morgans, they're Knights." The good Dr. thought that she was Bill Morgans wife and those were the little Morgan boys. I guess that it might have been easy to get mixed up when delivering babies in big families like that in those days. Mom set him straight on that real quick.
Mom had to spend about four weeks in a rehabilitation unit before she passed away. I had some really good times with her while she was in there. One day we were sitting talking and a Doctor walked by and she said, "Well, there goes old Pusservin." I asked her what she said and she told me and I found out that she had just given him a new name for some reason. My Lady and I went to Indiana for me to preach in a gospel meeting and before we left I sent Mom a card to the Rehab unit. On the return address I wrote, "Burt Reynolds, Hollywood, Calif." When we came back from Indiana we stopped at the rehab place to see her and I said, "Mom, I've been to Indiana to preach." "Why, you have not," she said, "You've been to California, Burt." She loved aggravating the doctors but she was dead serious when Doctor Tullos thought that my four older brothers were Morgans.
What memories and how they bless my life and help me to know that all was well at Herman Junction.
Monday, December 1, 2008
JACKIE LYNN KNIGHT: POST #34
Well, we had to stop at the Ashlocks' again on January 30, 1951 and when we got home sure enough there was another baby! When is this going to stop? I knew that people would come down to the Big Bay Ditch and leave their dogs and cats and they would make their way to our house, but where in the world are these babies coming from?
When we got home there was Jackie Lynn Knight. Do you know what? My Lady's mother, Edna Earls had come down there and brought him into the world! Did Edna bring that baby and leave it? If so, that would make me and Barbara brother and sister I guess! No, the Dr. didn't make it in time and Edna and Margie Woods helped Mom with the birth.
When Jack was about 6 years old I went away for two months to work in the harvest in Illinois for the Del Monte food company. When I came home I will never forget sitting in the house and Jack came walking in from another room. He had on a pair of short pants and no shirt and it looked like he had grown six inches in those two months. I was really surprised. I was really glad to see him and will always remember that hug from such a tall boy.
I was not around home much as Jack was growing up either. I missed a lot things with him. I have some vivid memories of him though that I cherish. When he was about 10 years old he came to visit us in LaPorte, Indiana. He must have stayed two or three weeks and he made some friends there and had a good time. He asked me one day to keep a quarter for him and I did. The rest of the time that he was there, every time he would want something I would buy it for him and then he would say, "Now, that wasn't my quarter we spent!" I guess that he must still have that quarter.
Years later I kept up some with his baseball playing exploits and have been told by several that if he had been given some guidance and discipline he could have probably played Major League Baseball as a pitcher. But, he had rather play with some independent team there around home than to go off somewhere.
My next experience with Jack came in 1974. Both of us had gone away from Herman Junction and I was living in Oklahoma City, Okla. When he turned 21 I wrote him a letter and told him that it was time for him to straighten out his life and quit doing some of the things that he was doing and just grow up and live right. A few weeks later we had been to church services on Sunday night and then gone home with some people for fellowship and to eat and just have a good time. About half way through the visit someone from the church building called and said that some of our kinfolks had come there looking for us and asking where we lived. So, we jumped in the car and took off for home and me growling the entire way about Barbara's brother coming to visit and never calls and gives a notice that he's coming or anything. Here I had to miss my supper and the good time that I was having because her brother had decided to drop in on us. I mean I was really pouring it on her.
When we drove up to our house there was the biggest motorcycle that I had ever seen sitting cross-wise of our driveway so that I couldn't get in. Lying out in the middle of our beautiful lawn was a mountain of a man with a little vest on and he was as brown as any indian that I had ever seen. He had hair down to his rear end, a long beard, and a mustache and big old black boots on his size 14 feet. That was MY baby brother, Jack! And, he had not dropped in for a day or two, he had come to live with us! After all I had told him to straighten up and live a better life so he had come to live it with ME!
Jack got a job and lived in Oklahoma City for ten years. Then he moved on to Katy, Texas to live near our brother Ray and his family. Ray had befriended him too and we learned that he was like feeding a cat, if you fed him he would keep coming back.
Several years ago Jack moved back near Herman Junction to Bay. Not long after he moved back there he called and told me that there was some property for sale at a real good price. It was the old Cochran home place just outside of Bay. I went up there and we went to the bank to see about buying it and all the time I just knew that the bank at Truman was not going to loan me some money when I lived in Conway, Ark. A couple of days later I came home and found a message on the answering machine. Jack said, "Hey, Bobby, this is J.R. and the bank approved our loan to buy the ranch!" I could have fallen over. So, we bought the property and not long after we sold it to Ronnie Davis and since Jack and Gina wanted to buy a house I gave him my part of the money for a down payment on the house where they live today. Jack and I are very close. But, I am afraid to say a lot of good things that I might otherwise say because the dude might just jump up and come to live with me again! He and Gina help Linda to make sure that all is well at Herman Junction.
When we got home there was Jackie Lynn Knight. Do you know what? My Lady's mother, Edna Earls had come down there and brought him into the world! Did Edna bring that baby and leave it? If so, that would make me and Barbara brother and sister I guess! No, the Dr. didn't make it in time and Edna and Margie Woods helped Mom with the birth.
When Jack was about 6 years old I went away for two months to work in the harvest in Illinois for the Del Monte food company. When I came home I will never forget sitting in the house and Jack came walking in from another room. He had on a pair of short pants and no shirt and it looked like he had grown six inches in those two months. I was really surprised. I was really glad to see him and will always remember that hug from such a tall boy.
I was not around home much as Jack was growing up either. I missed a lot things with him. I have some vivid memories of him though that I cherish. When he was about 10 years old he came to visit us in LaPorte, Indiana. He must have stayed two or three weeks and he made some friends there and had a good time. He asked me one day to keep a quarter for him and I did. The rest of the time that he was there, every time he would want something I would buy it for him and then he would say, "Now, that wasn't my quarter we spent!" I guess that he must still have that quarter.
Years later I kept up some with his baseball playing exploits and have been told by several that if he had been given some guidance and discipline he could have probably played Major League Baseball as a pitcher. But, he had rather play with some independent team there around home than to go off somewhere.
My next experience with Jack came in 1974. Both of us had gone away from Herman Junction and I was living in Oklahoma City, Okla. When he turned 21 I wrote him a letter and told him that it was time for him to straighten out his life and quit doing some of the things that he was doing and just grow up and live right. A few weeks later we had been to church services on Sunday night and then gone home with some people for fellowship and to eat and just have a good time. About half way through the visit someone from the church building called and said that some of our kinfolks had come there looking for us and asking where we lived. So, we jumped in the car and took off for home and me growling the entire way about Barbara's brother coming to visit and never calls and gives a notice that he's coming or anything. Here I had to miss my supper and the good time that I was having because her brother had decided to drop in on us. I mean I was really pouring it on her.
When we drove up to our house there was the biggest motorcycle that I had ever seen sitting cross-wise of our driveway so that I couldn't get in. Lying out in the middle of our beautiful lawn was a mountain of a man with a little vest on and he was as brown as any indian that I had ever seen. He had hair down to his rear end, a long beard, and a mustache and big old black boots on his size 14 feet. That was MY baby brother, Jack! And, he had not dropped in for a day or two, he had come to live with us! After all I had told him to straighten up and live a better life so he had come to live it with ME!
Jack got a job and lived in Oklahoma City for ten years. Then he moved on to Katy, Texas to live near our brother Ray and his family. Ray had befriended him too and we learned that he was like feeding a cat, if you fed him he would keep coming back.
Several years ago Jack moved back near Herman Junction to Bay. Not long after he moved back there he called and told me that there was some property for sale at a real good price. It was the old Cochran home place just outside of Bay. I went up there and we went to the bank to see about buying it and all the time I just knew that the bank at Truman was not going to loan me some money when I lived in Conway, Ark. A couple of days later I came home and found a message on the answering machine. Jack said, "Hey, Bobby, this is J.R. and the bank approved our loan to buy the ranch!" I could have fallen over. So, we bought the property and not long after we sold it to Ronnie Davis and since Jack and Gina wanted to buy a house I gave him my part of the money for a down payment on the house where they live today. Jack and I are very close. But, I am afraid to say a lot of good things that I might otherwise say because the dude might just jump up and come to live with me again! He and Gina help Linda to make sure that all is well at Herman Junction.
LAURA ANN KNIGHT: POST #33
It was February 14, 1949 and other than being Valentine's Day it was a perfectly normal day. I went to school that morning expecting it to be just like every other day that I had known. But, when school was out and we boarded the bus to Herman Junction, when we got to the Ashlocks' we were told to get off the bus and stay there for a little while. Later Dad picked us up and took us home. When we arrived we had a brand new baby sister and we were told that she was named Laura Ann Knight. Two years later we would repeat this process and when we got home we found a little brother. I had begun to think that we had better quit stopping at the Ashlocks' because every time we did we had another baby when we got home and the 'big'house' was getting fuller than it already was. What in the world did the Ashlocks' have to do with this anyhow I wondered?
Laura was the second girl in this family of five boys and Mom was elated to have another girl. It had been seven years since a new baby arrived at the Knight's house. In fact, this was the first one to be born at Herman Junction. Laura was adored by those older siblings. Two years after Laura was born Jack was born and he was a sickly little guy for a time. Mom had kids of all ages and had so many things to do that any help was appreciated. So, Edna Earls whose youngest baby was five years old, just kind of adopted Laura. One time Edna took her to a basketball game and Laura wanted to know when they were going to stand up and sing. Edna told Mom that she was going to have to take Laura somewhere besides church because that was all that she knew.
Laura can play a piano and never took a lesson her life. She can play by ear. That makes me mad because I have always wanted to play something but all that I can do is blow a sonata. (You may have to put your imagination to work to figure out what instrument that is). She loves to sing and play and we have had some great times singing together. I have been blessed to preach in several meetings in Ocean Springs through the years and have stayed at Laura's during that time. She and Jewel took us to one of the finest restaurants to eat that I have even been in. It is called, "Anthony's Under The Oaks" and is in Ocean Springs.
Laura married a military man and they moved about over the U.S. and even overseas. She had two children, Kirk and Kendra. Kendra was killed by a drunk driver several years ago leaving a baby of her own. Laura and Jewel adopted that baby, Lindsey who is now soon to graduate from high school and is a beautiful and wonderful young lady.
Laura is stark raving crazy! Now, you might wonder why an older brother would speak so of his baby sister. She lives in Ocean Springs, Mississippi and has stayed there through the worst hurricanes the U.S. has had. She stayed there through hurricane Katrina and I just thought that after everything was over we would have to go and gather up her family and take care of them but they survived wonderfully well and were able to help so many other people. When hurricane Ike was coming I thought, "She will leave this time!" Nope! She stayed right there again and everything was well. She needs to at least learn how to swim!
So, February 14, 1949 was a special day at Herman Junction and with this new baby all was well.
Laura was the second girl in this family of five boys and Mom was elated to have another girl. It had been seven years since a new baby arrived at the Knight's house. In fact, this was the first one to be born at Herman Junction. Laura was adored by those older siblings. Two years after Laura was born Jack was born and he was a sickly little guy for a time. Mom had kids of all ages and had so many things to do that any help was appreciated. So, Edna Earls whose youngest baby was five years old, just kind of adopted Laura. One time Edna took her to a basketball game and Laura wanted to know when they were going to stand up and sing. Edna told Mom that she was going to have to take Laura somewhere besides church because that was all that she knew.
Laura can play a piano and never took a lesson her life. She can play by ear. That makes me mad because I have always wanted to play something but all that I can do is blow a sonata. (You may have to put your imagination to work to figure out what instrument that is). She loves to sing and play and we have had some great times singing together. I have been blessed to preach in several meetings in Ocean Springs through the years and have stayed at Laura's during that time. She and Jewel took us to one of the finest restaurants to eat that I have even been in. It is called, "Anthony's Under The Oaks" and is in Ocean Springs.
Laura married a military man and they moved about over the U.S. and even overseas. She had two children, Kirk and Kendra. Kendra was killed by a drunk driver several years ago leaving a baby of her own. Laura and Jewel adopted that baby, Lindsey who is now soon to graduate from high school and is a beautiful and wonderful young lady.
Laura is stark raving crazy! Now, you might wonder why an older brother would speak so of his baby sister. She lives in Ocean Springs, Mississippi and has stayed there through the worst hurricanes the U.S. has had. She stayed there through hurricane Katrina and I just thought that after everything was over we would have to go and gather up her family and take care of them but they survived wonderfully well and were able to help so many other people. When hurricane Ike was coming I thought, "She will leave this time!" Nope! She stayed right there again and everything was well. She needs to at least learn how to swim!
So, February 14, 1949 was a special day at Herman Junction and with this new baby all was well.
HERMAN JUNCTION FINE DINING: POST #32
I mentioned in an earlier post about Dad that when he was young he would often have to go to bed hungry and he resolved that when he had a family that would not be the case. He said that we might not have a lot of different things to eat but that we would have plenty of what we had. He kept that promise through the years too. I remember once that Louis Woods came to the house to buy a gallon of coal oil. Dad kept two fifty gallon barrels of coal oil all the time because Mom cooked with it and of course we built fires with it in the winter time. I was a little kid wandering around outside while they were talking and I heard them talking about how hard the times were. Louis said, "Herb, I have eat so much poke salat that every time I go to the toilet it looks like a brush pile!" Can you imagine the picture that flashed through my mind? Probably the same one that you just had. We never had it that bad that I remember.
Mom was an excellent cook and we grew up eating about the same foods that others in our area ate. I have mentioned earlier how many huge biscuits (I called them cat-head biscuits and so many didn't know what that was) she made every morning. I was an odd one I guess but I didn't like eggs and gravy and still don't. But, when Mom would open one of those half gallon green jars that was packed with canned sausage balls and fix them for breakfast I could eat that, Pride of Dixie syrup with butter stirred up in it, and buttered biscuits and felt that I was fed like a king. We ate about three different kinds of beans, potatoes, every kind of vegetable that one could think of almost, pickled beets and other kinds of pickles, etc. and we fared sumptuously every day like the rich man in Luke 16. We ate about the same thing every day and it was just wonderful!
Then, the Herman Junction boy went off to Searcy, Arkansas to Harding College. I was introduced to some things that I had never seen before and I am not good at all at trying new foods. Boiled Okra! Mom had always fried hers and I loved it. I took one bite of that boiled okra and that was it. I never did like anything in my mouth that I couldn't spit out if I wanted to and I couldn't do that with slimy boiled okra. I knew then what E.D. Smith meant when they told me that he took a bite of boiled Okra and then leaned over and looked under his chair to see if it went straight on through. I went in the dining hall one night and there on my plate was a pile of white, stringy, stuff with a little wad of red sauce looking stuff right in the middle of it. They told me that it was spaghetti but I had never seen any like that and I wasn't about to eat it. So, I walked down to Bill Bob's dairy queen and got me a chili dog. A few days later I went in the dining hall for lunch (Dinner at Herman Junction) and there were some tables at the side with sacks of stuff piled high on them. I learned that our dinner (they had done replaced supper too) was in those sacks. There was a sandwich, apple, and potato chips. It was off the Billy Bob's again that evening. I don't know how in the world that I gained about 40 pounds down there because I thought that I was starving to death and would have if it had not been for Billy Bob's.
My Lady and I married and moved away to Michigan City, Indiana. It was there that I first met something called, "PIZZA." Some folks had us over to eat one night and they had Pizza. I could not stand the smell of that stuff. I didn't know what to do because this wasn't a regular staple at Herman Junction and just the way it was spelled looked silly to me and the fact that they called it a pie was outright ridiculous because I had eaten pie all my life and none of them were like this. Do you know what I learned to do? I put peanut butter on it and I liked it fine! But, My Lady made me stop doing that and I learned to eat it as long as I could choose what they put on it.
We moved back to Arkansas and a Dr. and his wife at Manila, Ark. took us to supper one Saturday night at Paragould. They ordered 'Filets' for us and I had never heard of that either. Here I am in another dilemma and I hated it. But, when they brought that filet it was wonderful and I ate every bite of it.
Then, My Lady, two children and I moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas. The second week that we were there some folk took us to Mexico Chiquito to eat. I had never seen nor eaten Mexican food. It was dark in there! I couldn't see what they were bringing. They brought a Guacomole salad with all that lettuce and stuff and a wad of Avocado stuff sitting on top of it. I looked at that and thought that it looked like where a goose had been eating Johnson grass all day and put his droppings on top of that lettuce. No way am I going to eat that! I would not touch that main course either and I apologized profusely but I just could not eat that stuff. Two weeks later the same folks took us out again to another place and they and My Lady ordered Mexican food again and I ordered fried chicken. It was light in there. When they brought that big plate of food, it looked like chili! I loved chili! I took a bite of My Lady's stuff and I have eaten five tons of Mexican food since then! It makes a difference when I can see what I am eating. A few weeks later I took My Lady and kids to the Holiday Inn for supper one Friday night. There on the menu was that word again, "Filet". I was glad to see that ordered one and my mouth watered the whole time that we had to wait. But, when they brought my food it was FISH! AWFUL FISH! No one had told me that they made filets out of fish just like they did beef and I had no idea on earth what HADDOCK was so that was a disappointing ordeal.
In recent years I have worked a lot in Romania but I learned very quickly that I could not eat their food. So, every time I go it is back to 'under the cotton wagon' food for me...Beanie-Weenies, Peanut Butter and Crackers, baloney sandwich etc. and I'll tell you what, it is mighty good over there.
After my travels in the world I have really learned to appreciate the fine dining that I grew up on at Herman Junction and My Lady still fixes regularly. That is what makes everything just fine at Herman Junction.
Mom was an excellent cook and we grew up eating about the same foods that others in our area ate. I have mentioned earlier how many huge biscuits (I called them cat-head biscuits and so many didn't know what that was) she made every morning. I was an odd one I guess but I didn't like eggs and gravy and still don't. But, when Mom would open one of those half gallon green jars that was packed with canned sausage balls and fix them for breakfast I could eat that, Pride of Dixie syrup with butter stirred up in it, and buttered biscuits and felt that I was fed like a king. We ate about three different kinds of beans, potatoes, every kind of vegetable that one could think of almost, pickled beets and other kinds of pickles, etc. and we fared sumptuously every day like the rich man in Luke 16. We ate about the same thing every day and it was just wonderful!
Then, the Herman Junction boy went off to Searcy, Arkansas to Harding College. I was introduced to some things that I had never seen before and I am not good at all at trying new foods. Boiled Okra! Mom had always fried hers and I loved it. I took one bite of that boiled okra and that was it. I never did like anything in my mouth that I couldn't spit out if I wanted to and I couldn't do that with slimy boiled okra. I knew then what E.D. Smith meant when they told me that he took a bite of boiled Okra and then leaned over and looked under his chair to see if it went straight on through. I went in the dining hall one night and there on my plate was a pile of white, stringy, stuff with a little wad of red sauce looking stuff right in the middle of it. They told me that it was spaghetti but I had never seen any like that and I wasn't about to eat it. So, I walked down to Bill Bob's dairy queen and got me a chili dog. A few days later I went in the dining hall for lunch (Dinner at Herman Junction) and there were some tables at the side with sacks of stuff piled high on them. I learned that our dinner (they had done replaced supper too) was in those sacks. There was a sandwich, apple, and potato chips. It was off the Billy Bob's again that evening. I don't know how in the world that I gained about 40 pounds down there because I thought that I was starving to death and would have if it had not been for Billy Bob's.
My Lady and I married and moved away to Michigan City, Indiana. It was there that I first met something called, "PIZZA." Some folks had us over to eat one night and they had Pizza. I could not stand the smell of that stuff. I didn't know what to do because this wasn't a regular staple at Herman Junction and just the way it was spelled looked silly to me and the fact that they called it a pie was outright ridiculous because I had eaten pie all my life and none of them were like this. Do you know what I learned to do? I put peanut butter on it and I liked it fine! But, My Lady made me stop doing that and I learned to eat it as long as I could choose what they put on it.
We moved back to Arkansas and a Dr. and his wife at Manila, Ark. took us to supper one Saturday night at Paragould. They ordered 'Filets' for us and I had never heard of that either. Here I am in another dilemma and I hated it. But, when they brought that filet it was wonderful and I ate every bite of it.
Then, My Lady, two children and I moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas. The second week that we were there some folk took us to Mexico Chiquito to eat. I had never seen nor eaten Mexican food. It was dark in there! I couldn't see what they were bringing. They brought a Guacomole salad with all that lettuce and stuff and a wad of Avocado stuff sitting on top of it. I looked at that and thought that it looked like where a goose had been eating Johnson grass all day and put his droppings on top of that lettuce. No way am I going to eat that! I would not touch that main course either and I apologized profusely but I just could not eat that stuff. Two weeks later the same folks took us out again to another place and they and My Lady ordered Mexican food again and I ordered fried chicken. It was light in there. When they brought that big plate of food, it looked like chili! I loved chili! I took a bite of My Lady's stuff and I have eaten five tons of Mexican food since then! It makes a difference when I can see what I am eating. A few weeks later I took My Lady and kids to the Holiday Inn for supper one Friday night. There on the menu was that word again, "Filet". I was glad to see that ordered one and my mouth watered the whole time that we had to wait. But, when they brought my food it was FISH! AWFUL FISH! No one had told me that they made filets out of fish just like they did beef and I had no idea on earth what HADDOCK was so that was a disappointing ordeal.
In recent years I have worked a lot in Romania but I learned very quickly that I could not eat their food. So, every time I go it is back to 'under the cotton wagon' food for me...Beanie-Weenies, Peanut Butter and Crackers, baloney sandwich etc. and I'll tell you what, it is mighty good over there.
After my travels in the world I have really learned to appreciate the fine dining that I grew up on at Herman Junction and My Lady still fixes regularly. That is what makes everything just fine at Herman Junction.
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