When I was a little boy and the world was in the deepest part of winter the days could become very long and boring on our farm on Fruit Ridge.
Almost any day when the weather was decent enough to allow me to play outside I could always find something to occupy my time. Whether I was playing in the hay mow over in the barn or building a dam in the creeks or playing in the corn cribs I could find something to make a winter day pass. But when it was very cold or pouring rain and I couldn’t get to all the wonderful places our farm held for me to poke around in I was confined to the house.
Being in the house put me on mom’s territory of rule. Being outside I could stay around the yard and be in a neutral zone that neither parent was too strict as to what I did. If I went to the out buildings or the barn I was venturing into dad’s territory and I knew and understood his rules pretty well. But mom’s rules even though I understood them didn’t mean I liked them. She got up tight over things like jumping on the furniture or bringing plates of food into the living room and leaving them on the floor. She was kind of picky to my way of thinking but you know how a mom can be.
So when I got up and saw it was a stay in the house day I prepared myself with ideas of things to do and also for how I was going to explain to mom why it was a good idea. Somebody tell me you never drug out blankets and arranged chairs and other furniture so that a tent could be made! How about the sofa cushions arranged and blankets used to create a fort, or a tunnel? Well if you say you didn’t I know I did. In the mornings playing inside wasn’t too bad for either mom or me.
From 9 to 10:30 there was Uncle Al the kiddies pal! I wouldn’t and didn’t miss it. He had it all on his show made for kids only to love. He had Lucky the Clown, Captain Wendy, an airplane and a merry-go round all in one place. At some point in the show he opened a bottle of Barq’s Cream Soda and poured it over a glass of ice cream and make a strawberry cow! (UN real) Seeing this I would go to our kitchen when I knew mom was elsewhere in the house and put ice cream in a glass and since the only pop in the house was Pepsi I made a brown cow. It wasn’t a strawberry cow but it hit the spot. Later in the program I think after he treated all the children on his show to Mommas’ cookies is when mom and I began to have problems. It seemed that just because I had carried the glass and spoon and plate and other items in front of the T V and in my tent mom felt there was an obligation to bring this stuff back to the kitchen. I mean really? I had moved on to other programs like Paul Dixon and then Ruth Lyons. Neither was as good as Uncle Al but they advertised a lot of products. All the time I was building with my Lincoln Logs of Legos or playing with my Fort Apache set inside my now changed from a tent to a fort? But by one pm T V showed only soap operas (YUCK!). Desperation would set in and I had to think deeper as what to do.
Really the answer was quite simple. I would go see what mom was doing and give her a helping hand. After all I had stayed out of her way and been almost UN noticed so far. Now mom was a creature of habit as each day of the week she had a set chore that got done and there was no exception. Example Monday was washing the cloths. Tuesday Iron the clothes and Wednesday mop the floors and etc. for the rest of the week. So as I said I would go looking for mom, find out what she was doing and then jump in to help her. Now for some reason and I guess mom didn’t want to burden me, but she almost always stopped me and explained it would probably be better if I just let her complete the chore she was doing.
Disappointed and still bored I looked for brother or sister. Maybe they had an idea of what to do. Peg didn’t offer much in ideas unless I wanted to practice school work (she was a teacher) and that never seemed to last too long. Ben had ideas such as helping him with his chores like filling the coal buckets and filling the box by the stove with enough coal for the night. His ideas didn’t last long either but by then supper was ready and after supper The Mickey Mouse Club was on with the Mouseketeers and when that was over I had completed a long and believe it or not what I thought to be an uneventful day. To this day when deep winter brings the long and nothing to do day I still look to it with a dread. I just wonder if I’m the only kid who ever experienced winter boredom??
Rick Houser grew up on a farm near Moscow in Clermont County and loves to share stories about his youth and other topics. He may be reached at houser734@yahoo.com.