Snake berries and locust shells

I was rich during my childhood days of growing up in rural Knox County, Tennessee. No, not rich, money wise, but rich in family, love, and imagination. We were just simple country folks, living paycheck-to-paycheck, and praying for the good Lord to watch over us during the in-between times. He was gracious to us and always did just that.

The land around my parent’s house was once part of a larger farm, owned by my papaw, Lorn Chesney. He had deeded an acre to my dad back in the early 1960’s. On that acre was a small, flat-roofed, 4-room cinderblock garage that someone had intended to build a house on top of but never did. This was the house that I grew up in until I was 8 years old.

The house had concrete floors and cinderblock walls, except for a few spots that wood paneling had been added. There was water coming into the house at the kitchen sink, but no other plumbing. We didn’t have a water heater, so we always had to heat up our water on top of the stove. In the wintertime, we took baths either in the kitchen sink or standing in a small plastic tub in the kitchen floor. In the summertime, we usually washed off out in the yard with a bar of Ivory soap and a garden hose. Of course, we didn’t bother with baths, unless it was Saturday night before church or if we were just extremely dirty and stinking. There was no bathroom in the house. We did our business in the outhouse that was about 40 yards behind the house. We washed our clothes either in the sink or we would take them to the laundry mat that was off of Millertown Pike behind the Economy grocery store.

Growing up, I never even thought about being poor. I just figured that everyone else lived the same way that we did. None of my relatives or friends was any better off than we were. At least if they were, I didn’t know it. None of that really mattered to me anyway. The only thing that mattered to me was getting to play outside. That is what I lived for.

I had a few toys back then, mostly hot-wheel cars and plastic army soldiers. I always had a bicycle, even if it was one that I had to piece together myself. We had a swing set beside the house in a little fenced-in area that we called “the lot.” My sister, Pam, and I, spent many hours in the lot playing. It was an area that mom could leave us and not worry that we would wander off and get in the road. Not that getting in the road was a problem back then. Maloneyville Road didn’t see much traffic at all in those days. You could pretty much stand out in the middle of the road for hours before you ever saw a car!

My favorite thing to do was to go exploring. Seeing as how we had vast amounts of land surrounding us, that was no problem. I would climb through fences, play in barns, chase chickens and cows, throw rocks in the pond, climb trees, dig in the dirt, slide in the grass, and a host of other outdoor activities. I didn’t really need toys. I was perfectly content playing with things I found on the ground. I truly believe that God had little boys like me in mind when he created this earth. Why else would he have made snake berries, locust shells, walnuts, persimmons, frogs, or hornet nests? Heck, with those 6 things alone, I could be kept occupied for hours. Have you ever had a walnut fight with your friends or neighbors? How bout daring your cousin to eat a green persimmon? Ever thrown a rock through a hornet nest, or terrorized your sister with a locust shell? You should try it sometime. It sure beats playing video games!

Nowadays, I just smile fondly and reminisce when I look down at the ground and see a small patch of snake berries or glance at the trunk of a cedar tree and spot a discarded locust shell. Oh, what I would give to be able to go back to those days when things were so simple and carefree. But, life must go on. We all have to grow up and become responsible adults. Every now and then though, we really should pick up a perfectly round rock and send it sailing through the middle of a hornet nest and run like the dickens. We could just chalk it up as exercise.