Sockin' the Loot Away

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Folks, please give a Texas-sized "howdy!" to Mark Crider! He's contributing yet another one of his special memories that got him into somewhat of a "sticky" situation. Thanks, Mark!
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SOCKIN' THE LOOT AWAY

Guess I was six or maybe eight and had gotten pretty good at pushing the old reel type lawn mower around on our carpet grass lawn for some time. My cousin, who we visited in Phoenix one summer, mowed lawns around his neighborhood and made pretty good loot. He got a dollar for the fronts and fifty cents for the back yards because they were smaller in his neighborhood.

I pushed the mower down our sidewalks on Oak Park Avenue, calling on the moms for business and did pretty good 'till it started to get dry towards the end of the summer.

Up towards the park there was this old guy, I don't think he had a wife, that was always out on the porch drinking coffee in the mornings and beer in the afternoons. He would just sit in his big rocker all day long in his undershirt doing this. His yard was a bunch of weeds and mostly grassburrs, just like at my grandparents' farm southeast of San Antonio. They were big purple sharp ones. They didn't stick in the bottoms of my feet, but would in the top and sides while covering my clothes. This guy's yard was nearly as bad.

One day as I was walking by he asked if I wanted to mow his yard.

"Hey, boy, you mow yards?"

"Yes, sir."

"You wanna mow mine?"

"Well.....I don't think the mower will cut the tough weeds and grassburrs."

"Maybe if I pay you to get the grassburrs picked up I can grow some grass. You wanna do that?"

"Yes, sir. How much will you pay me?"

"How 'bout a penny for every ten burrs?"

"OK."

So I ran around picking the burrs for a little while then set down to count them. It took way more time to count than to pick them.

I noticed he had some socks on that were full of them, and I had a brainstorm. I figured it would be a lot faster to put socks on and stomp around, getting them full of burrs, then count them later.

My dad had a couple of duffles packed with hunting gear that had thick wool hunting socks in them. They should work great. I ran home, opened one up and got several pairs. They were way too big, but I put them on and went to stomping.

As soon as one side was packed with burrs, I'd turn them to a clean side and pack them on the clean side. I did this 'till even the necks were packed to the top.

The old guy was really impressed when I sat down to start counting the gazillion burrs I'd collected in all those hunting socks. He said, "Boy! Why don't I just give you fifteen cents a sock? That way we don't have to spend the rest of the winter counting grassburrs."

WOW! What a deal. A dollar and a half, and I hadn't even hardly worked. I ran those socks home, put them up, and got the rest. An hour later I had another dollar fifty. TOO easy.

Well, I was out of wool hunting socks, but I had a pocket full of loot and hadn't pushed that mower a foot. I told the old guy that I would get some more socks later and keep working on them.

He was happy, and I was on "cloud nine."

Some time later my mom got a call late at night. My dad had gone somewhere hunting way off.

"Hello."

"What are you talking about?"

"NO! I didn't drop the socks in the yard."

"You're crazy! We don't have grassburrs in the yard anyway."

"Maybe your sisters are mad at you and did it while you were at the farm last time."

This went on for some time, and my mom WAS MAD. She finally slammed the phone down and went fussin' around the house for awhile. Then she came into my room and said, "Get up, we're going to Moore's Drug Store and get a malt."

My dad got home a few days later and there was Hell to pay. He fussed at my mom and she fussed back. He fussed at my aunts and they REALLY fussed back. He finally got some new socks, but I figured I'd better lay low on that project.

I never breathed a word about this before now, but I never got to finish my grassburr project either.

Reflections by Mark Crider
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Copyright © 2002 by Mark Crider. All rights reserved.
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FROM OUR FRIENDLY E-MAIL CARRIER:

In regards to "The Biggest Crush" --
(http://geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001/010102.htm)

Jennifer!
LOL! Aren't first loves hard on us? But what a great report you did....hey! So he'll remember you as the class "brain"! Way to go! - Blessings, Diane

Jennifer--
I had some crushes like that. If you have the time can you tell me if you are published anywhere else? - Bless, Marjeana Martin

Marjeana - several of my stories appear in two fantastic web sites: www.heartwarmers.com and www.hearttouchers.com. You can check out two stories of mine published at http://geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001/publications.htm. I've just received a letter today from the Chicken Soup folks confirming that my story "Of Thee We Sing," which originally aired in www.heartwarmers.com, will in fact be included in "Chicken Soup for the Soul of America." This book is due out in February. Thanks for asking, Marjeana!

In regards to "Filling the Gap" --
(http://geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001/121801.htm)

Dear Jen,
Your story touched my heart! Filling in the Gap is something that needs to be done. Your Mom suffered by herself, because in "those days" one kept their own pain! We are counseled to share and let it out now, and I think your gesture of giving her that gift was very appropriate and healing. After all you did have a sister who died. Our daughter lost her first baby. She was just a few months along when the miscarriage happened. She really had a hard time with that, and today remembers the date her little baby would have been born. Fortunately she became a Mother within a year after that loss and now has two little girls 3 1/2 and 1 1/2 ....but we talk about that day when she'll see her little baby whole and complete in heaven. It's a sensitive subject, but so important to be open about. Thanks for sharing, Jen. May you and yours have a very Merry Christmas, enjoying all the things you love most! - Blessings, Diane

In regards to "Wife Seeking Wife" --
(http://www.geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001/wife.htm)

Hi Jennifer, happy new year to you and your wonderful family. I just read your story of "Wife Seeking Wife" and find it an awesome story. I had a love like that in my life. Yes, it is very hard to let go of that kind of love. I will always remember that love. Thanks for putting it all into such wonderful story. HUGS for you and your family from me and mine, Kristiane

Hi Jennifer,
I just finished reading the excerpt from Wife Seeking Wife and I am very impressed. I'm sure you've heard this a thousand times before, but you have some serious talent. I, too, am a writer (albeit amateur) and I have hundreds of thoughts running through my head constantly, about things to write. Sometimes they come together and make beautiful poems or stories, and sometimes they aren't quite ready so they stay in my mind and keep growing. I'm very happy for you that your thoughts seem to have come together so well. Keep up the good work! - Cassi Campbell

Hi, Jennifer-- All I can say is WOW! What a story! - Beth

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LOVE,
JENNIFER I. OLIVER AND FAMILY
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When you are born, you cry and everyone is happy. So live your life
in such a way that when you die, everyone cries and you are happy.

- Unknown
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