Growing Up Country, It Aint What You Think!

You know, people who have grown up in the city all of their lives, always talk about living in the country.  That is until they have to actually live there.  People who have lived in the country all of their lives talk of living in the city that is until they get to the city.  Then it is a different story.  In life I find that we always want what we don't have.  I have always wanted long hair.  I have always thought that if I had long hair I would be beautiful, and all the boys would love me, and would want to run their hands through it.  That is what they did on T.V...  Well I have naturally curly hair, because I am a black woman, and contrary to belief I do have Indian in my family.  My hair is long when combed out, but I hate combing my hair, and I do not comb it unless I have to go somewhere, I like the fact when I lay down my hair is done, when I get up it is done, boy am I good!  Going to the country every summer it was hot as "hell" and I mean that.  I loved my grandparents dearly, but I hated that Georgia heat.  Every summer we got blacker than black because when we went to Georgia, we had to work in the Georgia fields picking peas, corn, just like the field hands that they hired.  Good thing I had good hair.  Now my sister was not so lucky, she did not have the good hair, only I did.  When we worked in the fields we had to tie rags around our heads to catch the sweat, and we had a sweat rag that went into our pockets to wipe the sweat from our brow and to swat the knats.  Now those were some of the biggest knats I had ever seen.  They were knats on steroids.  The flies were so big you could hear them coming.  Now you know that is not natural.  You are not supposed to hear flies flying.  I do not hear flies flying around here do you?  The ants, oh my gosh were so big.  They would bite you.  The ants around my house do not bit.  My father would say, "We are gathering our food for the winter" I wanted to say what are we pops squirrels, but I knew better, I just did it.  When they want to get eggs out of the hen house, now I saw animals on Wild Kingdom gather eggs not humans.  So why were we gathering eggs, were we not just suppose to go to Piggly Wiggly and get them?  Why did we have to pick peas and corn when it was already packaged in Piggly Wiggly, seemed to me at the time like we were doing double work.  What did I know at that time, I was a kid, and it was hot down in Georgia.   Remember the time when grandpa used us to herd the cows instead of the dogs; believe me it aint what you think!  They were not all bad time, there were good times also.  I learned so much from my grandparents, lessons that I want to pass on to my children.  There are a lot of funny things, serious things, and very important things.  I will get serious later.

Sherry/smomdukes