The Sled
My granddaddy who did some farming never
had a wagon. He had an old stripped down Packard automobile
made into a truck. He used a sled for hauling cotton, corn,
and stuff like that from the field to the barn. He had a
mule named “Tom” that he treated with a lot of care and
respect. He would let me ride him sometimes, but he had no
saddle and the rides were less than comfortable.
As I think back, I realize Papa Greer cared a lot for me.
He didn’t have much to spend on me but he made up for it in
many ways. Besides letting me ride the mule, I could always
count on him having made me some type of toy each time I
saw him. It was usually something made from a corn stalk, a
tin can, or an old tire tube. I remember a sling he made
me. He said it was like the one David used to fight
Goliath. I could put a rock in it and with a few swings
around my head could send it sailing half the length of a
football field. One of my prize gifts was a small light
weight ladder about six feet long that let me climb up
trees, look into the windows of the house, and investigate
tall things.
When we went to see him he always spent a lot of time with
me. One time he let me drive the sled to go get a
watermelon. When we got to the watermelon patch I had some
trouble steering the mule and we rode over a terrace that
threw me off as the sled went down across the watermelon
patch bursting melons in its path. Can you imagine how he
must have felt! But he came running to my side laughing and
telling me everything was all right.
His was a love I never understood until I became a
granddaddy.