Swimming & Berry Pickin'

Maggie Lee was devilish, but I loved her dearly. I would follow her in anything she could think up. Once on a Sunday morning, we sneaked two gallon buckets with lids and went to a deep creek. Neither of us could swim. We tied the buckets to our shoulders and went swimming. As usual we were caught - by her mom and sister this time. We were in the doghouse for a long time over that one.

One day she told me, "My dad gave me a good thrashing with a peach tree limb." To console her, I said, "That shouldn't have been too bad. It's not near as sharp as a buckberry or hickory switch." She looked at me very sadly and said, "With the peaches on it?"

One of the things I remember especially is the time when wild blackberries ripened. There was an old man who lived alone who had acres of pasture land filled with berry vines. He gave permission to anyone who want to pick them.

We went as a whole neighborhood and picked. As long as anyone had an empty bucket, we helped each other. Mrs. Ollie, my Sissy's mother-in-law, who was a precious lady and friend to everyone far and near, always insisted that everyone have buckets well filled.