Sue and Troy, the cousins, were playing in the yard when everyone got to the house. They came running, excited to see their cousins. They were overjoyed when they saw their mother bringing in the puppy she’d been hoping to catch. They danced with excitement, begging to hold him. Aunt Julie insisted they had to give him a little time to get accustomed to his new home and family.
Aunt Julie gave the puppy food and water as soon as she got him home. A flea bath was the next order of business for the rescued puppy. Aunt Julie wrapped him in a towel till he was dry. Finally, she sprinkled him with flea powder. He thought that was awful. She put vaseline on about twenty ticks to smother them, then came back and got them off with tweezers. She made him a bed with a blanket so he settled down to rest as soon as she was through. She said he knew he was home.
Lynn told Sue all about Lou. Sue got big-eyed when she heard Lou’s story and all about Grandma. “Golly, Lou. How did that that happen? How are you going to get home? Do you think the sheriff will come get you?” Sue asked questions faster than the two of them could answer.
“I don’t know why but a big bolt of lightning blasted me back in time and from Texas to Louisiana. Grandma is in another time and place but she’s getting some to help her get me back home. She’s given me a couple of proofs that she’ll get me back but she’s got to get it safe. She got me home for a few minutes but I popped back. She tried to get her bike back and stretched it out and broke it down n half. She has to make sure it’s right before trying again.
“Yeah,” Lynn broke it. Some of it looks like spaghetti. Wouldn’t it be awful to get stretched out like spaghetti! And guess what. Lou said her mom doesn’t know Lou’s gone. It’s like she’s in the future and here at the same time!”
“Wow! That’s really weird!” said Sue. “ Do you think the sheriff will come back and get you? Are you scared?”
“Mother won’t let him.” said Lynn. “He already tried.”
“Yeah! She’s really brave!” said Lou. “She chopped a snake’s head off with a hoe! Two dogs grabbed the pieces and ran off with it. The rest chased them trying to get it away from them. It was so funny!”
“ Golly!” said Sue. “Come on. I found a big Tarzan vine in the edge of the woods! We’d better get there before the boys find it!”
The girls took off. A little creek ran through the edge of the woods. Sue ran and grabbed a thick vine hanging from a tall tree. She backed up enough to get a running start. She swung across the creek and turned loose of the vine, landing on the far side. After wading out and retrieving the vine, she swung back across the creek, yelling like Tarzan.
“Your turn now.” She handed the vine off to Lynn. The fun was on! They started off swinging one at at time. Before long, Lou fell in the shallow creek. In no time, all three girls were purposely dropping off in the creek, muddy from head to toe. The boys heard the ruckus and showed up, joining the fun. It seems they’d just st gotten started when Aunt Julie called them to lunch.
When they showed up muddy and wet, she didn’t even get mad.
“Whoa! Y’all aren’t coming in the house looking like that! Wash up at the faucet and I’ll bring your lunch to the picnic table.” They squirted each other with the hose till she came back out with a tray of baloney sandwiches and milk.
“You little boogers turn that water off. I’ll skin you if you get me wet!”
Lou loved Aunt Julie.
During World War II, the Army had soldiers doing maneuvers in the woods near Aunt Mary and Uncle Willie’s house in Sibley. Aunt Mary had been raving about the sex-crazed GIs running wild in the woods thereabouts, probably more to keep her girls in line than anything else. She wouldn’t even let them go to the toilet or hang clothes on the line by themselves. They always had to do everything three at a time. It must have been lovely crowding three girls in a two hole toilet on a hot day. God knows, one of them couldn’t have stood outside alone and unprotected.
Nutsrok 