A special note to my friends: As always, I ask that you join me in the story. My wish, "is to make you laugh and cry, while leaving you in a state of uncertainty of what will happen next." Hope you enjoy and best wishes wherever you are.

 

Previously in chapter 5: My nose and face were numb from the freezing wind. I tried moving my arms and legs and the effort failed. "Please, help me someone," I screamed and yet, no one answered. "I'm here by the snowdrift," I yelled. "Please, I'm freezing." Oh, why can't

someone hear me? What a waste, my freezing to death at seven-years-old. God! I had planned on so much more. "Wait a second!" How could I be freezing when I felt so warm? I'll just take a nap then go on home. Supper will get cold if I don't hurry and get to the table.

"I've found Billy! Bring me the lantern quick. And I'll need the shovel from the wagon and a quilt. Please, hurry, I think he is still alive."

I awoke to the sound of my father's voice. I could hear him shoveling snow off my body. After wrapping me in a hand sewn quilt, he carried me to the wagon, climbed aboard, slapped the rawhide lines against the mules tails, and then yelled, "giddy-up!"

I don't remember much about the ride home and yet, I'll always remember, our old blue mules running lickety-split! Oh, I'm here to tell you, they were hauling tail. Once getting home, my father hitched the mules to a rail, carried me inside, put me on a small cot my mother had moved to the front of the fireplace then said, "Take care of him, Mother, I'm gonna get Doc Smith."

"Doctor Smith should be home by now, Father. Please, hurry on, okay?"

After throwing some logs on the fire, my father headed out to the wagon, climbed aboard and was off in a heartbeat. Quickly removing my wet clothing, mother wrapped me in a warm flannel blanket, threw two heavy quilts over me then ran off to the kitchen.

"I'm making some hot soup, Billy," she called.

"Oh, please, Mom, I don't think I can eat right now."

God! Please, don't tell anyone, my friends, that my mother hand fed me "tablespoon after tablespoon," of the hot soup. Thank, goodness, Janice didn't see this. Why? Because she would have said, "Poor, Billy, he's still nursing on mommy!" There were times, Janice could be a whippersnapper. But then of course, so could I. How bout you, my friends? Shivering like a dog in the cold water of winter, I could not control the involuntary muscular contractions. What a time to get sick.

My mother grabbed a warm quilt from the back of the chair by the fire, wrapped me, then began feeding me soup again. Oh, God, get me through this spoon full, and I shall never swallow another. Although somehow, it tastes somewhat better than before. A short time later, the shivering stopped and I drifted off to sleep.

"Wake up, Billy! Doctor Smith is here to see you."

"What seems to be the problem, Son?"

"I'm okay, Doctor. Just got lost in the woods and awfully cold."

"Well, I'll just take a look now that I'm here, okay?"

Doctor Smith started his examination in the same way he always did by saying, "Now, let's see, uh huh, seems about right." For the life of me, I could not figure out, what he saw or seemed about right. And that started me to wonder. Here I was busting my butt at plowing the fields, planting the crops then harvesting them all. That was if the drought hadn't burn them in the fields. And I didn't have a penny to my name. Now, all Doc Smith did for a living was say, "Now, let's see, uh huh and it seems about right." And he was making bunches of money in doing so. Well, my mother wasn't raising a fool, so I'll have someone save me a seat in medical school. But, surely, there is more to it than that. I'll do some checking, and I bet you would as well.

Although, Doc Smith found no frostbitten tissue, he did diagnose me with pneumonia, and started me on whatever they were giving at the time. My Mom's home remedy consisted of layering my chest with Vic's Vapor Rub, covering it with a hot steaming towel, then pouring hot soup down me. Would you believe Campbell's ran out? Do you know why? "Because mom poured it all down my craw." God bless her!

Grandpa and Grandma took care of me through my recovery and as well, worked their tails off doing my chores. Grandpa would chop wood and build the fire, and take care of the livestock, while Grandma would cook our meals and mend our clothes. After being pampered for a couple of weeks, I was back in school and yet, I was sure spoiled by the pampering.

It was Friday and I was ecstatic. Mrs. Cooper had let us out of school at noon, so she could attend a Teachers Conference in Nashville. My father had promised to let me go hunting on the next Friday we were out early. Wow, and this was it! Once getting home, I found a note on the table that read, "We're over at your grandparents. Be real careful with your shotgun this afternoon and be home to do your chores." The way I figured it, I could hunt for around three hours, and then finish my chores before dark.

Oh, I was so hungry, and my belly was growling so loud. It sounded like a mama bear that was having me for supper. I gobbled down a drumstick from the cooler, chased it down with a big glass of milk, dressed for the cold, picked up my twenty-gauge, filled my pockets with shells, and then headed out for the woods. Luckily, I would kill some wild game for the table and help my dad save money for seed and fertilizer for the spring planting.

Within three hours, I had bagged five rabbits, four squirrels and two turkeys. I had certainly earned the right, "to blow my horn!" I headed home to do my barnyard chores. And after finishing them, I grabbed the double bladed ax, raised it high above my head and brought it down hard into the oak wood. Within fifteen minutes, I had split enough sticks for the fireplace and kitchen stove.

"Not bad for a seven year old having had pneumonia three weeks ago," I bragged. Although my mother had made a mistaken perception of my physical stamina, I would most certainly keep it to myself. You do understand of course? As the golden flames leaped high up the chimney, I looked out the window. Frosty, the Snow Man stood in an old black wash kettle, wearing a black crowned hat, yellow carrot nose and smoking a corncob pipe. My eye lids were heavy, and I pushed back in the rocking chair by the fire.

"Wake-up, Billy! And go get your long handles on before you catch pneumonia again."

"Oh, my goodness, I didn't mean to fall asleep, Mom. Where's Dad?"

"Out in the barn unhitching and feeding the mules. He'll be in directly."

Sitting down to eat, we shared the tranquility of being together, thanked God for the peace and comfort in our lives, and prayed for guidance along our journey, beyond the hard times. After finishing our meal, we shared our dreams of tomorrow, then went off to bed.

The golden rays of an early morning sunrise, warmed and kissed my face. Why was I smelling smoke? Oh, my Lord! I remembered my not placing the screen protector in front of the fireplace before going to bed. As I ran into the living room I saw the orange flames leaping high from the floor. I felt so guilty. What in the world would we do? "Please, God! Forgive me for forgetting," I screamed.