The Chapel Hill weekly., 1958-11-10
| Like Chapel Hill
BY Billy Arthur

viii anyone who has courted forget those dell
cious hours? VIII his heart grow cold and hard
that it will not melt little he remembers how ne
once held hand, toyed with soft curs, or heard
whisper that il all right to stay little longer?
Some folks say counting had slower pace IN the
old days, the horse and buggy days. don't know first
hand, because belong to the in-between age came
along after the horse and buggy and before the
drlve-n movies. guess you'd say I'm member OF the
rumble seat age.
Anyway like to hear older folks talk about how
the old plan worked The other day ! listened in on
fellow reminscing how the girl was expecting him
on Sunday night and had the paror curtains down and
the parents notified how healthy it to go to bed
at o'clock and Johnny bribed with penny to permit
himself to be tucked away at sundown.
This fellow said he sneaked up the path with one
eye on the dog and the father, who didn't like
hm IN the first place He knocked at the door and
received by the girl He said he couldn't stay but d
minute though he didn't intend to go home till about
midnight. He sat down the sofa and Immediately
the conversation tagged. He played with his hat and
she with the lace dolly He finally said it beau
THU evening and she said granddad had predicted rain
he guessed it wouldn't rain because the moon wasn't
crooked, and she didn't believe it would either.
This mutual understanding said my friend, seemed
to give both Of them courage. They on talking
about the church picnic and he carelessy dropped his
hand on hers while his left sneaked along the sofa
To get behind shoulders She pretended not to notice
It, and he said he looked down at his boots and asked
she thought mutton tallow rotted out boots faster
than lard and ampback. She couldn't say but she had
an idea that it did He had just commenced to lock
fingers with her when she discovered something allied
the lamp 80 she and turned the light down half
turn, making the room look dim And it took him five
minutes to get hold Of her fingers again. and she pre-
tended TO want to draw her hand away all the time.
> After long pause he said, he lowered his voice
and whispered he didn't what made folks love each
other She Rugged up to him and admitted her ignorance
too He said he could half dozen young men
VINO were going to get married, and his left fell
down around her waist and gave her hug. Then he
went over TO look out the window to make sure it
not going to rain Coming back, he turned the light
down little more then sat down and wanted to know
if she didn't want to rest her head on his shoulder
"Ah! Mep' my friend exclaimed And turned and
walked down the street
I've heard my Cabarrus County kinfoks tell about
the hold me tight buggies they used to n and
the fun they had without automobiles and drive-ins
There place up Kannapos called the Rocks,
where the young folks used to congregate for Sunday
picnic uppers and star gazing sessions There the
long drives in the moonlight over rural roads and old
Dobbn walking with rocking chair motion
Ny folks said that when trip like that if you
suffered something about love and the like and she
started to pick lint from her dress then you know you
the safe side.
When they start picking that way you've got EN-
for sure they said "And the thing you had to do
take tobacco to the old and snuff TO the old
woman 10 get on the blind side of the parents"
Then there were taffy pullings. I've seen them The
grabs the rope Of molasses in the middle passes
the end to the girl And, of course later the
girls manage to get mixed up in the rope of taffy.
When this happened there no better way for a
fellow to get his around the girl because he had
TO stand behind her TO help free her hands Incidentally
that gives US the expression being stuck girl
Don't misunderstood me. I'm not complaining about
the apparently different modes Of courtshp today |
merely said at the outset that like to hear older folks
tall .l.n ~ a.