NASHVILLE EXPERIENCES PART II

NASHVILLE EXPERIENCES PART II

Linda and Ron had moved into the Millstadt house we lived in and so the kids and I would go visit her and Scotty. Their intent was to build a new house in the woods. They bought some acreage so Linda and I and the kids decided to scout out the area. Jamie was with us too, for some reason. So we were shuffling through the leaves and between the trees and Jamie and Little John got ahead of us. All of a sudden Jamie came running back and I said "What?!" I could tell she was scared and John was left alone. As it turned out, everyone did the right thing. There was a copperhead snake coiled up and staring at John. John just stared back never moving. Tell me God wasn't with that kid. I wasn't sure how I was going to get John away from the snake because I knew a sudden movement would possibly make the snake strike and it could jump far enough to reach John. So I stood back as far as I could and still reach him and quickly pulled him out of harm's way. There was no doing it slowly. I could hardly walk back to the car because my knees were so weak. I wanted to carry him but couldn't. If a Copperhead doesn't kill you it will make you wish you were dead and John was only about 3. If it had been a dog he would have screamed bloody murder. Marilyn had a giant dog that got him down one time.The dog wasn't intending to hurt him but he didn't know that. He was about 3 then too.

There were snakes in our yard too. It wasn't unusual to see one. In fact, one was curled around the gutter. I tried killing it with a hoe but my hoe just bounced off of it. They're good for eating mice but once they scare me then all bets are off. Another time I was mowing the front lawn with a push mower in the spring. I saw a snake and jumped back. I looked down and there was another snake. I jumped again and there was another one and another one. I had gotten into a family of snakes that had come out of hibernation to bask in the sun. I'm glad no one was videoing me.

Big John and I were in the kitchen one day and all of a sudden there was a flash of light from Little John's bedroom. We knew that wasn't anything normal so we ran to his bedroom. He was lying in his bed with big eyes and I asked him if he was OK and he just said "Uh huh," but he didn't get up either. He was OK. Just scared, I guess. He had stuck a nail in a socket. It melted the nail. I don't know why he wasn't hurt except by the grace of God.

Little John got in several pickles while we lived in that house. One day I looked out the sliding glass doors to where he was in the back yard and saw a bumble bee go after him. I was terrified and there was nothing I could do. John was running as fast as he could at the age of about 4 or 5 and when he got to the far end of our long back yard the huge bee was ready to sting him and he tripped. The bee flew over him. That bee was so large that I could still see it when he tripped. Later he did get stung by a honey bee in the waist of his pants. The bee was still stuck in him because the elastic was holding it in. I had to pull the bee out. Oh, what mothers will do for their children.

I had heard from a neighbor that there was a mean German Shepherd roaming around. Later that day Little John got off of the bus. I don't know where Diana was that day. But when I looked out of the window, I saw the German Shepherd dog. John just stopped, stood still, and stared at the dog. He didn't know to do that. He just did. The dog then went on its way.

Little John was riding his bicycle to school one day and when he got to town where the businesses are, he looked up at a sign his dad had recently made. When he did, he hit a truck, went flying over the handlebars and landed on some big machine part in the back of the truck. Then He got afraid that the truck owner was going to come out of the restaurant and yell at him for being in his truck so he hurriedly made his way out of it. He had to walk his bike to school and all the way home, which was a long way. When he got home he told me what happened and I asked if anyone stopped to help. He said they did but they just laughed and laughed.

Diana managed to stay out of trouble except for the day she decided to run away from home and find a better family. She had a ridiculous outfit on including boots. I let her get a little ways down the road and asked her to come back. She refused. So I said "But we're having spaghetti for supper." She changed her mind.

Diana was a runner. She won first in state in the 100 meter sprint in 8th grade. So she would run down our road to stay in shape. I would go out to the road to make sure I could see her and I usually could. But one day I couldn't. She wasn't even in the horizon. I got upset and Big John did too out of fear she had been kidnapped. Little John was afraid too but he shows anger when he's afraid. He was so angry with her. He's usually laid back except when he is really afraid. We all got in the car and drove down the road. We met Diana coming back. She had simply decided to go a little farther and was out of sight.

Part III to come.