His mama passed away when he was just a boy of seven years living in the "projects". With a father who worked odd jobs (grave diggin' being one of them), he and his two older brothers spent their days in a Huck Finn sort of way:
Trick-o-Treatin' a day early, on purpose.
Throwing tomatoes at his neighbor's house. (The one who ran them off for trick-o-treatin' a day early.)
Driving Grandpa home from the local bar.
Scrounging up dimes to see the newest western at the local theater (his favorite was Lash Larue, who wore all black).
Engaging in "war games" with dirt clods and tree branches.
Learning to swim by being thrown into the local river, the one you skated on in the winter, swam in during the summer.
Collecting snakes and selling them. (Horrifying Mrs. McFad, who found them slithering all over her basement.)
Running with a pack of boys: Dugan, Nomo, Stemp, Little Stemp, Widow, Woots, Peanuts, Gritz, Jacko, Tubby. (All of which could out-swear the upper crust kids from the west side of town.)
Breaking the winter ice on a pond--and falling in--with his church clothes on.
Sinking a new boat on the local river with a dog named Extane.
Getting fired from a farm pickin' job for loading the bottom of the green-bean basket with rocks. (Couldn't fool that Weight Master.)
And, just like Huck, Papa spent most of his time with a fishing pole in his hands. In fact, theses hands have held a fishing pole, and baited a worm for the last seventy-three years. He owns no fancy fishing equipment, no boat. Papa has always been a simple boy with simple ways.
When I saw that the iheartfaces theme this week was "anything but a face" I smiled at being able to share this photograph of my father's hands. These are the hands that taught me how to cast my own line. They are also the hands that now teach my own children.
On this day, I caught him baiting Bean's worm to her hook. It was like second nature to him.
Tomorrow I will share more pictures of our morning fishing adventure, but for now, go take a look at all of the other iheartfaces entries and enjoy the different kind of theme of "anything but a face".
Trick-o-Treatin' a day early, on purpose.
Throwing tomatoes at his neighbor's house. (The one who ran them off for trick-o-treatin' a day early.)
Driving Grandpa home from the local bar.
Scrounging up dimes to see the newest western at the local theater (his favorite was Lash Larue, who wore all black).
Engaging in "war games" with dirt clods and tree branches.
Learning to swim by being thrown into the local river, the one you skated on in the winter, swam in during the summer.
Collecting snakes and selling them. (Horrifying Mrs. McFad, who found them slithering all over her basement.)
Running with a pack of boys: Dugan, Nomo, Stemp, Little Stemp, Widow, Woots, Peanuts, Gritz, Jacko, Tubby. (All of which could out-swear the upper crust kids from the west side of town.)
Breaking the winter ice on a pond--and falling in--with his church clothes on.
Sinking a new boat on the local river with a dog named Extane.
Getting fired from a farm pickin' job for loading the bottom of the green-bean basket with rocks. (Couldn't fool that Weight Master.)
And, just like Huck, Papa spent most of his time with a fishing pole in his hands. In fact, theses hands have held a fishing pole, and baited a worm for the last seventy-three years. He owns no fancy fishing equipment, no boat. Papa has always been a simple boy with simple ways.
When I saw that the iheartfaces theme this week was "anything but a face" I smiled at being able to share this photograph of my father's hands. These are the hands that taught me how to cast my own line. They are also the hands that now teach my own children.
On this day, I caught him baiting Bean's worm to her hook. It was like second nature to him.
Tomorrow I will share more pictures of our morning fishing adventure, but for now, go take a look at all of the other iheartfaces entries and enjoy the different kind of theme of "anything but a face".
1 comment:
I was a little stumped by the theme at iheartfaces this week however you completely nailed it. Beautiful shot and story.
Post a Comment