Holloween

Tales from the Backyard…For some reason our home had always been the focal point for neighbors and family.  Once a month or so friends would come with their kids, to play cards and all the kids would go into the living room to watch a new invention, Television.  We were one of the first families to get one.  Saturday was also the night we all took our baths too.  Out would come the washtub, filled with hot water from the stove and each of us in turn would take a bath, me, the smallest, always last, the water always cold by then.  On would go the clean pajamas for the visitors to see.  It was also the night that the show called “Lights Out” came on.  This show was the precursor of all following creepy shows, somewhat like 'The Inner Sanctum' and 'The Twilight Zone'.  The show always started with a very deep voiced narrator, foretelling of the nights events.  This was done with a flickering candle on the screen and then the narrator would say, “Let the show begin, Lights Out”, and at that exact moment, the candle would be extinguished, leaving the screen dark for a few seconds. You always watched in the dark.  I remember one particular fall Saturday; about ten of us little and not so little kids were glued to the front of the TV, the only light visible was under the kitchen door and from the TV.  The night was stormy and rainy making things very eerie and us very jumpy.  When the announcer said the words “Lights Out”, there was a flash of lightning and a bang of thunder, not only did the TV candle go out, but all the lights in the house went out.  Talk about screaming kids.  We ran to the kitchen seeking the safety of our parents but that room was dark too.  To this day I still don’t know if it was a coincidence or my dad pulling a prank.

Pet Squirrel

We lived on a minimum income in those years and fresh game was a staple for our diet.  But when my older brother was still around, we ate a lot of Spam.

Dad's Boss Cat

My father had a huge Tom-Cat somewhere in the 25 lb range and it ruled the neighborhood.  No dog would come near.  If it did, the cat was on it like a lion on a leopard.  The birds, squirrels and chipmunks lived in fear, it often brought them home alive to give to my mom, maybe to clean and cook it for him, who knows.  It ruled the house also.  If it was in a chair, you left it there, otherwise suffering the consequences.  We came to visit one day and the cat was sitting in its chair, Lori, about a year old then, was placed on a blanket on the floor in the living room amongst us.  After a while, the cat leaped off the chair, landing on Lori's back and then bit her on the neck as if trying to kill a Impala.  Dad chased the cat out of the house, but he never did anything like that again.  On another occasion the whole family was there for a Sunday dinner.  My sister and her husband (Lee)came and wanting to sit down, he tried to move the cat off its chair .  The cat slapped him with its paw and left its mark. Lee, not to bright, reached down and grabbed cat around the neck and lifted it to his face saying something like, We'll show you who's boss.  The cat began pumping his back legs, digging his claws deeper and deeper into Lee's arm.  Lee kept squeezing, the cat kept clawing until the cat finally went limp and then he dropped it, saying with a smug smile " I guess I showed him", at which point the cat jumped straight up and latched to his arm with all four feet and claws digging in and then bit his hand between the thumb and fore-finger, all the was through.  Then just dropped to the floor and walked away saying, 'I'm still the boss here".  Lee's arm looked like it had just gone through a tree debarker. He lived to 20 something before he passed away, and never changed.

The cat hanging

Tales from the backyard...One year my friend Terry and I went hunting up in the Arrowhead region of Minnesota. When we arrived the temp was about zero and by the next morning it was twenty some below. It was so cold I couldn't sit still and began walking to keep warm, looking for deer sign. I pushed a nice doe to Terry which he shot and after I dressed it out we decided it was to cold so drove back home. Terry's wife wanted nothing to do with hunting so I hung the doe, by the neck, in my garage to age. My daughter Lori watched with interest then disappeared into the house. Soon after I heard this terrible screeching sound coming from the back door of the house and turned to look. Lori, 2-1/2 then, had secured an extension cord around our cats neck and was bringing it out to hang next to the deer (she did whatever her dad did). The cat was doing everything it could to escape, feet flying wildly, but apparently Lori knew how to tie a good knot. I ran over and released the cat from its peril and couldn't believe, that Lori had not one scratch on her. The cat was no worse for wear.

Pauly's return

Tales from the backyard…Not to long after we moved to Forest Lake, I couldn’t sleep one night and heard someone coming up the stairs.  It turned out to be my older brother Paul, on leave from Marine Corps. Boot camp training.  I was standing at the door when he opened it and scared the crap out of him.  Had he not had 2 more steps to climb, I think his training might have kicked in and I would not be writhing this.

The Prison

Tales from the backyard…When I was in my early teens, my cousin Clint married a beautiful Native American from the Chippewa tribe of northern Minnesota and moved amongst them.  He began associating with a bad group who thought the day should be spent drinking and to cover the costs, began writing bad checks.  For this he was sent to prison on several occasions.  One day my aunt asked me to ride along for her monthly visit, and with my mother’s urging, I said I would go.  It was out of her way to come down and get me and in reflection, I think mom and her had thought a trip to the prison may do me some good.  Kind of shock therapy and I guess it worked, for out of prison I have stayed ever since.  While visiting I could here in the background different prisoners shouting out different numbers, after which they would all laugh.  After awhile I asked my cousin what that was all about and he said that they had heard all the jokes so many times they gave them numbers and when you heard a number you recollected the joke and if funny, laughed.  Could I try, I said, and he said okay, so I yelled out 27.  Nothing, not a single response, confused  I asked my cousin what happened, was that a bad joke?  He said, no, It’s just some people can tell them and some people can’t.  Alright, the last part is an very old bad joke but being a story teller I have always seen the humor in it.  So sue me…

Jasper gets even

Tales from the Backyard …Jasper loved hunting and I loved to hunt with him.  One season I decided to go deer hunting and he had to stay home.  That he didn’t like, so to get even for me leaving without him, he went to our bedroom and grabbed my down pillow and tore it to shreds.  The room was wall to wall feathers, you can only laugh.  But then I wasn’t there to clean it all up.

a pretty close resemblance of Jasper