A Simpler Time

Sitting in the quietness of the morning, I drift off into memories of experiences lived long ago that molded me and colored my life. Some experiences were great, others not so wonderful. In the late summer months, July through September, me and my brothers would be caught up in the season habit, our excursion as we called it of going Blackberry picking. We always went with our Mom no matter how much fight we put up. It was a hot and dangerous seasonal harvesting that could bring the picker face to face with copperheads or maybe even a rattlesnake.

Whether Blackberry picking along a dusty, dirt road, swimming in the creek filled with we-didn't-know-what up Sawmill holler or running home in the rain alongside a swollen river hoping that it stayed within its banks until we got to the house, this is what filled our summer days in the valleys between the huge mountains where coal camp children were raised. Each of us could tell a tale, spin a yarn, or create images for those who'd listen. But, seldom do we expose those darker experiences that frighten us even until today. No, those things are pushed as far back in our minds as we can push them. There in the recesses of our darkened conscious minds, they remain to be visited by us alone. Those were the times that would cause us to boast of 'lessons learned' once we made it into the light and away from the dangers, demons, specters, and ghosts that scared us all. Those were the times we had to look for the light at the end of the tunnel! Those were the times we sought a life-changing answer that could only come from above. And, in those times we prayed the hardest. One person's valley of death isn't the same as someone else's, yet it is just as real. Thanking our good heavens for the light at the end of the tunnel during those sunny days that would’ve been our last.

It's funny how those events, those adventures, those childhood memories stick in our minds and never go away, while others only visit for a minute then they're gone. Such is one of many experiences from back in the late 1950s. Along with Blackberry picking and watching out for Copperheads and Rattlesnakes, there was much else to do. There weren’t any televisions or radios or any fancy things like the kids have nowadays. School summer vacation was a time dreamed of while attending school, but once it was in our possession, we couldn't find much to do to keep us busy. The spring pigs were growing quickly, the chicken coop was filled with clucks and cheeps and 'cock-a-doodle-doos, hen's nests filled with eggs, and the crops were springing up knee high showing signs that there would be fresh corn, green beans, and cucumbers. There weren't any summer water parks or carnivals or vacations away from the house. The money was always tight. Pinching pennies was not a past-time practice, but an essential activity to make ends meet. But, somehow, the pantries were filled, there was food on the table, and even extra for the lady down the hill who helped Mom out with the ironing. It was on one of these 'nothing to do days' that my older brother discovered the largest tree at the back of our house. They could grow to a mature height of up to 60 feet, spreading around 12 feet. My oldest brother made it his goal to climb the huge tree no matter what. So, one lazy summer day, he ascended almost to the top of the tree, almost out of sight, or so I thought. The leaves and branches hid him from sight making it appear that he'd climbed into the heavens. Thankfully, he didn't fall out of the tree and break his neck. We'd been warned about such antics when Mom wasn't around. Once back on the ground, he turned and said, "I told you I could do it!" And so he had. It was a proud moment for the kids on the 'hill' with little to nothing to do. There's little left of those childhood places. Nothing more than rotting timbers, over-grown dirt roads, and memories that linger there calling me back to a simpler time filled with all we needed.