Growing up in South Georgia by Diane Webb

What I loved about growing up in South Georgia By Diane Webb

Driving at a ridiculously young age
Being able to go anywhere without permission
(as long as it was on a tractor or a horse)
Spending the night on the trampoline
with Olivia Newton John playing on cassette
Laying out in the sun and listening to Wolfman Jack
Family gatherings that went way into the night
Admiring the night sky with a zillion stars
Building Pine straw forts
Exploring in the woods all day long
The sound of running feet on grandma’s porch
Raising calves
Checking the fence line
The smell of peanut hay
Getting lost in the planted pines
Swimming in ponds and mud holes
Watching a car or truck get pulled out of the mud
Churning ice cream
Picking blackberries
Guitar pickin and singin
Walking barefoot up the dirt road to grandma’s

Riding bareback at night

Daddy and the Dynamite (Diane Webb)

Image via Wikipedia

My father really loved his bird dog Scout.  Once, Daddy was dynamiting stumps out back.  After he lit the fuse, he would run back, duck down and wait for the blast.  On this day, we were watching from the window when much to our horror, Daddy got up and began running back toward the dynamite (which still had a burning fuse).  That's when we realized Scout had curiously gone up to examine the dynamite in the stump.  Daddy grabbed Scout and ran back with him before the dynamite went off.  Yes, he risked his own life to save this dog.

Scout and Uncle Tony (Diane Webb)

Image by cm195902 via Flickr

I may have mentioned before our bird dog Scout was abused before Daddy got him.  When he finally trusted my father he became a great hunting dog--for Daddy that is.  Scout refused to hunt for anyone else.  When Daddy and Uncle Tony went hunting together, Uncle Tony was very impressed with the way Scout hunted.  He begged Daddy to let him use Scout from time to time.  Daddy kept telling him that Scout would not hunt for anyone but him.  Uncle Tony could not believe this as many times as he went hunting with Daddy and saw Scout perform.  Eventually Daddy got tired of Uncle Tony begging.  Uncle Tony just could not believe he would not be able to get Scout to hunt for him.  So, Daddy gave in one day and let Uncle Tony take Scout hunting. They were gone a while when Scout came back to the house--alone.  Uncle Tony appeared later--a little put out to say the least.  He said all went well and Scout pointed beautifully for him.  However, when he moved closer he saw Scout was not pointing a covey of quail.  Instead, it was a rat.  Then Scout looked back at him like "there it is, stupid, now shoot it".  Then Scout promptly left Uncle Tony in the woods with the rat and ran back home.  Uncle Tony never asked to borrow Scout again.

Scout (Diane Webb)

Image via Wikipedia

When I was a little girl my daddy had a bird dog named Scout.  He was one of two family pets.  We loved Scout.  He was abused before my daddy got him so once he began to trust the family he was very loyal.  At the time we lived in a very large city.  In the year 1973 Scout went missing.  We placed ads to no avail.  We road the streets calling his name.  Nothing.  We got our hopes up when a lady answered our ad telling us she found a bird dog wandering around.  We went and it was not Scout.  This dog was not even a full blooded bird dog.  Since no one else claimed him we adopted him but it was not the same as Scout.  In 1974 the family planned to move back to my parent's birth place in another state.  By this time we had already given up hope and moved on in our minds--accepting we would never see Scout again.  Within a couple of weeks of moving, I was out in the front yard with my mother.  I'm not sure who else was there.  Mamma said, "looka there".  I looked up to see Scout loping towards us.  He had come home.  Daddy examined him and says he must have been locked up in a pen with a concrete pad because his feet were slick on the bottom.  We will never know if he escaped, was let go, or was actually dropped back off in our neighbor hood.  Regardless, he had made it home in time to move with us.  We had Scout back after over a year of being gone.  This is one of the reasons I can't watch shows like HOMEWARD BOUND.  They make me cry.

Concrete pig hostage crisis (Diane Webb)

Image via Wikipedia

Well, there seems to be some intrigue going on out here in the north end of the county. Apparently, someone had a deer stand on someones land. This land is behind yet another person's home. The landowner where the deer stand was placed took the deer stand. Whoever owned the deer stand thought the people in the house took the deer stand. So--they took the concrete pig of the people in the house and somehow communicated to the individuals that the concrete pig was taken because of the deer stand. Now, the people in the house have placed three signs by the dirt road in front of their house apparently trying to communicate back with the kidnappers. One sign is an 8 x 10 typed page of cryptic sentences placed on a very elaborate easel. This easel is what you'd expect to find in a nice home with a portrait being displayed. Or in a restaurant with the special of the day or menu. There is a second 8 x 10 typed notice taped to the mail box. Then there is crude sign on poster board written in magic markers. Basically, the people in the house want their pig back and are trying hard to convince the kidnappers that 1. they did not take the deer stand, 2. taking the pig is "theft by taking", 3. if you bring our pig back there will be "no questions asked". Honestly, when I saw all the signs and read them I could not make heads or tails of it. Neither could my son who is in the top 10% of his class. I could tell someone wanted their concrete pig back but I could not figure out the deer stand connection. Ray went up the road and read all the signs and explained it to me. Now it makes perfect sense. I hope they get their pig back. I don't really care about the deer stand. Who puts a deer stand on someone else's land then gets mad because some one takes it? Isn't that called poaching or something? I will try to get a picture of these signs for you tomorrow. It's a hoot!