<TITLE>07. Par 23-25</TITLE>L-23 I passed by the old school house; it's gone too, for we have no continuing city.
And right across from there, there used to be Mr. Wathan's chauffeur. And...?... they live there. There's a pump that I wanted a drink out of. And I thought, just like David one time, wanted a drink out of that well. And I went down there to the--and begin to pump the water, and wife and baby and them was picking violets.
I was leaning across the old fence, and looking at the old hill there where the school used to be, and the old trees, the sugar maples where we used to tap them and suck the sap on them in the spring of the year, you know, when it was coming up.
And I thought, "Oh..." I could just imagine seeing all those little boys standing lined up there with their hands on one another's shoulders, tramping like this, and the flag up, and we were going in, the teacher with a great big long willow, making us line up just right. And I looked up on the hill, and see the old home where it used to be, and housing project up there. Down here, the old school was gone.
And my, my heart begin to swell up. I thought, "Here we have no continuing city, but we're seeking one to come."

L-24 I remember the boys that I use... I said, "Let me think. Ralph Fields, where's he at? He's gone. Where's Howard Higgins? Dead. Where's my brother? Gone. Here we have no contin... Where's dad? He's gone. Where's Charles? Gone. Where's Edward? Gone." I thought, "O God, and soon somebody look at this ground and say, 'Where's Bill?' Gone." Here we have no continuing city. I begin to think of it. My heart begin to pound.
I remember a little dirty trick that I done my brother there. Don't do anything wrong that you'll ever regret.
I remember one day that mama give us some popcorn to take to--to school with us. We couldn't eat with the rest of the kids. We'd always run over the hill there and eat, because we--the rest of the children could afford sandwiches.
And we used to have a little jar. In there would be greens and a piece of corn bread laying on the side, and two spoons, and maybe a little jar full of stuff, you know. And--and we'd set and both of us eat out of this jar with this spoon, and eat our bread and pass it back and forth to one another. We was ashamed before the children. And we'd run over the hill and eat behind the trees over there.

L-25 I remember mama getting us some popcorn around Christmas. We had a sack of it, and we took it to school, left it in the cloak room. And here the little dirty trick that I did. I held up my hand. Teacher said, "What do you want, William."
I said, "May I be excused?"
Said, "Yes, ma'am--yes, sir."
And I went out the building, and went out through the cloak room, I put my hand down in that sack and got a great big handful of that popcorn. Went out and stood behind the school and eat this popcorn to be sure that I got my share of it. And I was eating that popcorn. I never will forget. When dinner time come, we went out and got our bucket and got our popcorn. My brother looked in that sack, and about half of it gone. He said, "Say," said, "something happened there, didn't it."
I said, "Sure did." Uh uh-huh. I know what had happened. I'd eat his popcorn. So... But he shared the rest of it.


<A HREF="P8">Next Page</A>