Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-02-28

"Sir?" said.
Long ago your mother beat you, didn't
she?"
"Well, I don't remember :.
did you ever try to remember"
"I don't know that have"
Don't you ever try to think Of 1t at alp"
mo, amt, but will ifn you want me to. !
don't think it'll do much good, though, be-
cause she died when was borned.'
And that seemed to make him kind OF
mad he looked at me and frowned real hard
and said ''Well, why didn't you say so in the
first placer" and snatched the paper around
and wrote something down on It,
So said, II guess should have all right"
and said just didn't think of it and so on
and then I figgered that maybe he was just
leading up to it because he wanted to talk
about his own mother. so tried to give him
a prod by saying. why? Did you hate your
mother?"
Certainly not" he said.
"Well, wouldn't think SO. Did she beat you
or something's"
Look here. now" he said. you better
watch yourself"
So l dropped 1t right quick. ! said Just
thought he might want to talk about her for
a while, and tried to explain I didn't mean
no harm, but he was still right upset about
it and leaned over the table saying to me,
well didn't say nothing about my mother.
did I? ] was talking about your mother.
didn't say one word about my mother"
We'll, don't guess you did, and I'll sho
talk about mine i'm you want me to. but 1T
won't do much good like said, because she
died when was horned but now heered
Pa say one time ;"
well, let's just skip it," he said
IT can tell you what Pa said. He used to
mo. No." he said. Wen talk about some
thing else. What about your pa? Did he ever
beat you?"
"Sho"
did he beat you hard?"
"Sho Lord. remember one time he took
me out behind the pig pen and got one Of
them fence rails and leaned me over that
fence, and Lord never got such licking
Couldn't nobody beat me like my pa could.
remember one time :.
But then he give bounce and leaned
over and stared in my face again and said
You hated your pa. didn't your" and kept
his face poked right into mine.
And couldn't think Of q thing to say for
a little bit. It looked like we was going to have
to go through with all that staring again, and
it seemed right silly to me, and didn't want
to hurt his feelings or nothing, but told him
then just as plain as could how felt said
'Sir, I don't hate my pa and don't guess
hated my ma either, and II that's all you want
to know. you can write down there on that
air paper that I didn't hate neither one Of
them, and not my grandpa or my grandma
either. because like all my folks ceptn this
one uncle got that amt too partial to be-
cause every time he comes out to the house.
he's always wanting to raSsle with our mule,
and I just think he amt got very good sense
because every time he comes out there he
heads back for the barn and keeps the mule
all wore out and tired, but there amt much
harm in him neither that can see cept him
wanting to raSsle with that mule, so / don't
really hate ;"
''All right" he said "All right"
so II you want to write that air down
III be on my way and maybe you can find
somebody else that hates their folks ;"
You Just sit down." he said. we
aren't half through yet"
We'll. now. I'm through with that much
Of it :. :"
You what" he said leaning over the
table at me; but then he kind OF stopped
and set back again and rested a little bit
and rubbed his face. and when he looked
back at me again. he looked altogether DIFF
ferent. He was smiling as nice as he could
like ne had just seen me and we was old
friends And then he leaned over and said.
kind OF whispering It, 'Will, what do you
think about the girls?"
"Hows that?"
s'em?" - '" w ~" Inc
What girls is that sir?"
Just girls. Just any girls"
We'll. don't like just any girls. know
there is one old girl back home that amt
got hair no longer than a hound dogs. and
shes the meanest girl ever did see One
time ~
Just Girls in General
i don't mean that quite. I mean girls
in different sense When I say girls. I
mean :" and he hedged around some
more, and twisted and turned, and finally got
way OF the subject and never heered
such talking as he did then. He got all
wound up and wanted to know about girls in
Georgia and I'd start to tell him and he'd
say. No. / don't mean that ;" and then
he'd be OF again telling me about girls and
what ne meant when he said girls, and he
got wound up SO much 1t was just like warnt
there. He leaned back and put his head back
and squenched up his face and talked and
talked. and listened for while and glanced
around and seen that most of the others
had gone already, only he hadn't ever noticed
it. So l settled back and Just let him 20
on and he kept talking about girls only not
about no particular girl but Just about girls
in general. So We chatted a good while about
girls that way. and then told him q Joke
1 heered Pa tell one time, about Ike and
Mike at the circus. and he was getting q
right big kick out Of it. leaned, way across
the table with his mouth open and his eyes
all lit UP. until he finally noticed that the
others had gone. and then he set back right
quick and the grin come off his face and
he broke in on me and said. Yes. Yes. Well,
/ guess better let you 60 now"
We'll, Amt told you the end Of it
yet :"
mo, that's all. That's not what mean
anyhow :"
So I got up and told him how much I
enjoyed talking with him, and he said, Eyes.
Yes" and told him II he wanted to talk
about girls some more that he ought to come
over to the barracks because the boys over
there was always talking about the girls and
knowed lot Of good jokes themselves. and
he said. Eyes. Yes. Well, that's ALL Yes.
Thank you" and told him that maybe II
he went out and seen some girls every once In