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It
was nearin’ nighttime, close up on seven p.m. or thereabouts’ on
Monday night when I walked through the old double front doors of The Flat
Rock General Store. Slim had called a meetin’ concern’ Halloween two
thousand ought seven and at first lookin’ it appeared most near all The
Store regulars were present includin’…Essex, Ms. Ida, the widow Cora,
my Daddy "pop" C.C., Heath, Dustin, Farlow and Willerdean,
"Truth," Estelle, Bro., S.R., J.R., "Hatch" and, the
night owl himself, Mr. Harley Hood. Course as normal there were some other
community and area Flat Rock folk floatin’ about The Store, but most
near all them weren’t hardly payin’ no attention to the goin’ ons of
Slim’s called meetin’. There were even some Store regulars not payin’
very heavy attention, cause it was nearin’ bedtime for some and bout’
Monday night football kick-off program startin’ time for others.
Slim
had already laid out his plan for The Store’s annual Halloween party and
costume contest. The purpose of this meetin’ was assignments. As normal,
it would be held on the Saturday night shy of Halloween or in this case
October the 27th of ought seven. All The Store regulars plus other
community and area Flat Rock folk would be involved in the carrin’ out
of Halloween ought seven down to The Store. Course my job was total
people/public notification to Mr. Luke Slaton of the Moulton Advertiser
and also to the AFC Cooperative Farming News. Additionally, Ms. Ida
was to scribe out a notice along the back wall of The Store behind the old
pot-bellied heater on two six-foot-long pieces of white butcher paper in
red marker ink for all visitors to view. Bro. would be a doin’ flyers
promotin’ the Halloween party and costume contest. Course all folks in
hearin’ or those able at readin’ are invited.
Beyond
the costume contest there would be a light eatin’, startin’ at six
p.m., candy for all the Flat Rock community and area little ghost and
goblins, and music by Harley Hood and friends. Lastly, Slim had this new
take on Halloween type story tellin’. He called em’ "Fradie
Cat" tales to be shared by all with their revelentness to serious
scaredness. Most I have heard in the past and expect that many would be
shared as "Fradie Cat" tales this year.
A
few that appear in my head at first thinkin’… Estelle closin’ her
hair factory at near dusky dark, lockin’ the factory door, pursein’
her keys, turnin’ and there stood a momma skunk and five babies between
her and her car. When Slim hears this one he always laughs a big old belly
laugh and explains: "Hun after a good tub soakin’ just let that
smell wear off"… "Truth" was a floatin’ in Town Creek
and just as he slides under this low saggin’ tree limb, a hunkerin’
big ole’ snake drops clear flat in the same end of the boat as he is a
standin’. As Estelle explains when she tells it "man over
board" with a rollin’ giggle… Heath, scoutin’ cotton back when
he was in college being a fur piece from the truck in the late light and
bein’ flanked by howlin’ coyotes along the edge of the woods. —-
This tale always comes with a "run Heath run" chant from The
Store regulars… The widow Cora, feedin’ her yard chickens as the sun
drops in the west and there’s this shiny old black panther that appears
out of the woods screamin’ clear loudly, then crosses the road in front
of her. Ab, Cora’s late husband, always told she rushed back in the
house in serious need of a clothes changin’.
Therl’
be lots of other "Fradie Cat" tales from individuals with their
own revelentness toward serious scaredness, maybe even a "Fradie
Cat" tale from the old master storyteller, Mr. Slim himself. Now, ya’ll
all please be safe, watch out for all them little ghost, goblins and Doris
Vaders and, like normal, have a SPOOKTACULAR HALLOW—WEEN!!!
WELL WATER
WITCHIN’—
Just
as I was a headin’ out the old double front doors of The Store my friend
Jim Humphries, proprietor of Humphries Tire across the Tennessee River in
Florence, called me on my cellular phone in serious need of a experienced
"well water witcher."
Seems
he has this friend who had lost well water for the first time in 36 years
because of this year’s devastatin’ summer drought. Jim also needed a
"well water witcher" for this new land property he had just paid
toward up in Tennessee.
He
was in luck since Slim, my Daddy "pop" C.C. and Farlow are all
"well water witchers" experienced with both peach tree limbs and
clothes hangin’ racks. There’ll be a well water locatin’ fee and
travel miles charge, gas bein’ so high. But, odds run near 90 percent of
them locatin’ well water, course with all this heavy dry, the well
drillers just may come on it down near China… |
