Funny What You Remember

It is funny how when you get older, and I do mean older, I am talking over seventy, you start recalling things that happened in your youth. Most of the time, they are not even about me. Just some little thing that happened and you start thinking about it. Right now I am remembering when a homeless man came and knocked on our back door. They did not call them homeless back then. They were either hobos or they were tramps. It is true that some of them even road the boxcars on the railroads and traveled from town to town. Well, getting back to the story, he knocked and my dad answered. He said he was hungry and could we possibly give him some food. He did not ask for money or a handout of any kind, just some food. My dad said he would never let a man go hungry, but the guy would have to earn it first. He did not fuss or get angry, he just said, ”What do you want me to do?” My dad said there was some wood to be cut out by the chicken coop and the guy could cut some of it up while mom fixed him a hearty breakfast. He cut and mom cooked. She made bacon, eggs, potatoes, and pancakes. She brewed him some coffee also. That poor guy ate like he was starving, which he probably was. Now I would have fed him, and I would not have made him work for it, but my dad was a stickler for believing that nothing is ever for free. Sometimes the homeless would mark your house somewhere so that others seeking help would know if you were a kind person or not. If my father was approached on the street for money, he would never give it, but would take the person in to the nearest eatery and pay the waitress to give him something to eat. We were not rich by a long shot, but we were never so poor we couldn’t share. I can remember standing in line with my dad while he waited for a hand out of dried beans and whatever else they were giving during the depression. I guess I remember the beans most because mom would soak them in water and we would pick out all the stuff that floated to the top and ran our hand through them to also take out any little rocks that had accumulated. One time while in line someone gave me a cute little push toy that was Felix The Cat. He had a long wooden stick handle and when you pushed it the feet wobbled along. Funny the things you remember when you are getting older