"HILL_BILLY" tale ..from : a Jenny wren
Jenny wren: scene:a-top of a tall mountain in Tenn, site, a cabin home of granny and her kin.

"HILL_BILLY" tale ..from : a Jenny wren
Jenny wren: scene:a-top of a tall mountain in Tenn, site, a cabin home of granny and her kin.

The story begins" after much labor and love the apple pies are made and cooling on the window sill for after supper, the girls are helping grandma penny to clean up all of the mess and to make coleslaw and baked beans for to go with their supper... ummm and good old koolaid....

They gather in the Hot dogs from the big canister, (that kept them cold down in the deep hole that had been dug out below the falls,) in the creek, everyone is gathered to have their saturday night treat: hot-dog's from town and the marshymellers that the kids loved so well.

"you make sure there is enough wood to keep that fire a-going now, kids, there could be a few kin, company coming in, for this here roast.," Granny is always barking out orders and the younguns snap to the job as she seats herself in her rocker there, molded special to fit her old tired bones.

the kids was sitting around the fire, a-waitin' for the Hot dogs to all get done, when one of them spoke up and asked Grand-mammy, to tell of some of their 'old timey' ancestors.

Granny kinda' rolls her eyes upward, as if searching her brain, for a catagory worthy of her precious family, that was gathered around her, in deep anticipation, ( they loved grannys tales she would kinda' get carried away, in the reveree of telling of the ancestors. It is just dark and the campfre is flickering sparks that are flying and swirling skyward.

All ears were open and ready for the tale to begin shucks (granny told a tale as if : it was just happening right then, the kids loved hearing granny, celebrate their families long and colorful history....

Granny had a captive audience (and she knew it, so she was just a bit 'hammy' in her telling of any tale) She spits her tobaccy juice toward the fire, and one of the kids squealled "No! grammy not in the fire! we's cooking." grammy only smiled and continued.

"Long ago when your great-grand pap, wuz alive and the younguns' wuz' little, their precious pa died a horrible death ... Grammy's brother Bubba hated this story!, cause she always got so up set when she got into the story , all the terrible memries of it and all, He winced and frowned, but knew also that these little one's gathered here now had not heard the tale . "I guess it is time for them, young ones, also, to know of their kin ..." He kinda' snarled to himself.,( under his breath so'es granny did not hear him) "Your poor old grand pa Buford, that wuz his name, Buford Alexender, one of the little ones piped up " What ever happened to Our Grandpa Buford, ...granny?"

"Why Son, your poor old grandpa died, He fell into one of his great big ole' whiskey barrel, that was a workin, as he was getting it ready to run off'n his still, there He stood upside down with his old toes pinting up to heaven,when the little younguns of ourn, found him , head down , in that barrel, til' almost dark, he drowned in mash...

"What is mash granny?" asked one of the girls, " it is corn-meal and sugar and yeast, that has soured to make whiskey with when bil--ed."

granny continues, "that wuz' when they went to take him some supper, cause whiskey making usually took all day and night to run off. and bottle up.. yep He wuz dead ,! "she reassured them. "even a fool could see that, he was deader
than a door-nail, and was all blowed up in the belly, like a great big , ole' toad-frog.. that wuz' a fixin' to let out a big 'beller'.

The girls eyes now got big and danced in the firelight, as the reflection of the firelight caught their face, they were filled with excitement,,, "then whut' granny?" asked one, granny caught her breathe, took in one great gulp of air and let the words roll forth to the ears of the waiting children, who were by now., all ears.

She continues: "Now, I wuz 'not' about to have all of them nosy old biddies women, that live here on this old mountain near us, thinking and tattling that that my pa was a drunk, as well as a moon-maker, she scolded "shucks, He still had a little pride, and I had managed to have a whole lot of it.,"
when them younguns toted him to the house, anyhow, now I sees he wuz' done enbalmed hiself, in that sour mash when they brung him in, why he actually 'sloshed' as they flung him, from the wagon to theporch." (big breath)the girls gasped, in fright and awe.

"I figgers, there is no need in us having to pay out good money to have him cream- ed too, I decided right then and there, 'yes-sire- bob' that we was going to jest cream-ated him, our selves." (granny kinda stumbled over the word creamated) then she gulped hard and was off on the tale, again,)

"Then afterwards, we could have his funeral, then, if'n there was anything left of him after that. "

well, it is dark out now and somebody stirred up the fire that they have all hovered about with this gory tale going on. The sparks went to flying and swirling upward into the starry night all around " that fire, reminds me of that big old fire we built, under pa that nite..................
"do you remember that ,,,,,,Bobby?" Bobby, just shook his head" yes, "..... Granny is off again, "and that fire sparked, and it burned for 'three' solid days," afore we could ever get grandpa, plumb 'put out', I swear He set the woods on fire twice afore' we plumb got finished. so's we could finally bury the remains."

Granny wren sits and looks deeply into the fire, as they all sit around, in deep pondering of this long ago happening., "Yes sir, this here old campfire, shore reminds me of that, even kinda 'smells' like it too!, she snerls up her nowe just a bit , then she said softly while she was getting up, "I don't think I am hungry tonight .."
here is is thirty years later and Grampa is still missed today, by Her, it seems like he had jest died.......again...
Granny jenny wren, who only had her old memory cushion, that was filled to the brim with some bad and many good memories, to rest her old white 'haloed' weary head on, in this, her old age.....
Granny gets up and starts into the cabin, she grabs up the tail of her apron, and holds it to wipe away the tears that had gathered in this memory, she blunders inside the cabin's open door, (running over 'old rattler' the dawg,who tho't he wuz guardin' the house, by laying there) the kids feel kinda bad, cuz' they all know Granny Wren is reliving this old, old sad memory once more,., all over again..jest as iffen, it jest happened.. this evening.

"Granny never could let go of a sad memory, could she,"scolded her brother,*Bob, Shirky, stammered around and then finally got up enough nerve to ask Bubba?. "Did that really happen?? " Bubba kinda, curled up his lip, then he nodded "yes," The rest of the kids sit now looking blankly, at Uncle ubba and then back over at the fire, which roared and snapped at them, they wuz a=thinkin' about the tale, they had just heard. Then Bubba, and Shirky finally start to gabbing again, around the fire. Kids went abouta-roasting marshymellers, and some hot-dogs...... Then after thinking of their deceased grampa,.......a burnin.... not many hot dogs,--- wuz et' tha