Days Gone By

When asked recently about my childhood, I gave that standard and thoughtless answer that it was 'normal.' However, after recently learning that normal is merely a dryer setting, I sat down and rummaged through my memories to vividly recall and record what exactly did make up my early years. Here are some sewn together moments and memories of my childhood growing up and coming of age in rural Georgia (Allentown) in the late 70's and early 80's.

Loggin' roads and croaking toads,

Cane poles at honey holes.

Long hot days full of work and fun,

Gregory, just be inside before the setting sun.

Feel of red clay squishin' between my toes,

and the scent of Tea Olive in my nose. 

Grey haired ladies as sweet as their tea,

loved to talk about folks, quite sure that included me.

Canoeing with my dad across the Okefenokee,

Camping on Victoria Island near the great West sea. 

Boys stopped laughing at my home-made clothes,

When they saw I could pound blood from a nose.

Splashin' through soupy red mud and muck

in my Uncle's old beat up pick up truck. 

The Beatles and Blood, Sweat, & Tears on an old LP,

My brother playing the piano, man he could tickle the keys!  

Playing ping-pong for hours with my older brother, Doug.

The smell of my dad's coffee and his favorite mug.

Squirrels barking way up in the tree top,

It was always clear who was the better shot.

My clothes and I were always muddy and bloody,

Mark Ellington was easily the best "best buddy."

The Macon-Savannah line roared right by the house every night at seven,

Caught pegging it with rocks when I was eleven.

Chase-lounge star gazing with dad in the back pasture,

 Riding our new "ten speeds" to see who was faster.

Learning about God's grace, that's truly amazing,

laying in the grass watching floating clouds, and cows grazing.

The smell of her hair the first time we kissed,

My brother and I working things out with tightly closed fists.

Cutting yards for a crisp ten dollar bill,

The buzzing up the road at the old saw mill.

Under the kitchen sink my dad hid his crutch,

and the day he beat it to me meant so much!

My dad chopping wood to keep the house warm,

My dad loading up his car when their marriage was torn.

 g

Mr. Melton's Old Hardware Store

Allentown UMC

Georgia-Carolina rolling by the house.

The old water tower

Allentown RR Crossing

It's Friday Night in Thomson!

The brickyard bricks are waiting for tonight's Bulldog outing;

the crisp night air filled with cracking pads and crazed fans shouting.

No eyes, no ears, yet somehow they know;

That in just a few hours the dogs will put on a show.

There's no PA system proudly announcing "first down";

and those poor Grovetown boys have yet to leave their town.

The tickets are printed and ready to sell; 

 and the Dogs are in class thinking about giving 'em hell. 

The Brigade is silent but soon they'll excite the masses;

when the referees take the field, of course, none will have their glasses. 

The commander's staff has their game plan all ready;

Their adrenaline is building too but they strive to remain steady.

The Brickyard grass is gulping that fresh morning dew;

and soaking up the sun hoping to look good as new.

Bathrooms and stands are clean as can be;

Even T-Bone's outfit is clean and smells like the sea.  

Parents at work are watching the clock with poise

Soon it will be Friday Night in Thomson and

TIME TO GO MAKE SOME NOISE!!