The Lonesome Buffalo (part 3)
She answered. That sweet Georgia peach from the Holiday Inn in Columbus answered the phone. How did she know it was me? She talked in that smooth voice, relaxed and inviting. I listened and could almost taste the smell of her perfume, far more powerful than the pine-sol and floor wax I was actually smelling. She said, "DO NOT say a word about the company or where we are staying and I will come get you." The jailer carried me to Lock-Up and I was still feeling warm and comfy. That changed...
The Lonesome Buffalo (part 2)
The day had potential from the start. It was unusually warm with a light misting rain. Gerard had taught me the odds, one in six doors you knock on will let you in, especially if it's raining or real cold. If they will talk to you, chances are they will buy, if they don't buy maybe they will offer you food or something to drink or maybe even something else. People have a hard time turning someone away standing out in the rain, so all I had to do...
The Lonesome Buffalo (part 1)
December didn't go well. There's something about the grays and browns of winter that make cold loneliness come out in full color. Christmas was bought with illegal means and the gifts had no more value than the torn paper that had covered them. I never liked Christmas holidays anyway. It was just a time to drink and dream about how good things would be next spring. Mid January found me looking through the newspaper for a job. The listing asked for eight men and eight women willing to travel, in...
Huff and Jenny (part 5)
As a young man on the farm, Huff never even thought about it, but when he went into the Army, Huff picked up the habit of smoking. He started out with Lucky Strikes, then Camels, Kools, Winstons, Salems, rolled his own for a while, then settled down with full-flavored Generic Kings by the carton. When he talked about the Army, he would sometimes chain-smoke a pack,back-to-back. He tried to quit a few times, but that just seemed to make the habit worse. Huff even smoked in Wal-Mart while he and Jenny ate or shopped, ignoring the signs and managers who he tole point...
Huff and Jenny (part 4)
With his disability check and a VA loan, Huff and Jenny were able to buy a Jim Walter home with four acres near the Air Force base in Lowndes county. Even with his bad leg, Huff could still drive a tractor, but he knew that he would never be able to farm for a living again. Huff took his high school diploma, Honorable Discharge, and papers for the G.I. Bill and enrolled himself at Mississippi State University. Nine years later he graduated. That fall, Huff got a job teaching Industrial Technology at Hopewell High School, an honorable job, a paying job, benefits and a paycheck on the first...
Huff and Jenny (part 3)
Winter came on quick that year. Everything green turned brown, everything brown turned gray, and the sky froze ice blue. The family sat around the fire place and listened to Huff read the official paper, over and over. Huff had the distinction of being the first person in his family to finish high school. He had missed a lot during planting and harvest, but managed to graduate with a little help from FFA and 4H. Now he had been honored with a Draft Notice. Everybody agreed , he needed to get married. So the next morning, Huff's momma ironed-up his best shirt and pants and shined his work boots with some KiWi shoe polish. Huff...
Huff and Jenny (part 2)
A tater diggin' crew consists of one man to drive the tractor and four to six women on a wagon pulled behind. The tractor has a scoop that pushes the taters up onto a conveyor line. The women grab them, shake the dirt off, sort 'um by size and stack them in crates. The work day started at sunrise and Jenny showed up ready to work. She was wearing an old straw hat that belonged to her grand dad and carrying a grocery store sack with her lunch in it; two slices of white bread with a thick slice of country ham, a dozen tea cakes and...
Huff and Jenny (part 1)
The 1st and the 15th were Jenny's favorite days. These were special days for Jenny because that's when Huff got paid. Huff taught industrial technology at Hopewell High School. The classes consisted mainly of field trips to hog farms and the local wall paper factory and generous lectures on the Vietnam War. Huff was a veteran and damn proud of it, except for the fact that he had caught a piece of shwrap metal in the knee and had to wear a knee brace. But war wasn't talked about on the 1st and 15th cause that was when Huff carried Jenny into town to shop at the...
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