THE OLD HOUSE IN THE WOODS (MRS BULL)

When I was 4 my parents were just getting started farming. At that time there were me and 4 other siblings. Also at that time my parents were very poor and did not get out much. But when they did they usually dropped us off at "The Old House in The Woods" as I called it.

And the person who lived there was called Mrs Bull. She was very poor herself but was extremely nice. Basically my parents used a barter system with her. That meant for watching us my parents gave her meat from cows or chickens that we would butcher (instead of money). One thing I remember about her house was it always smelled like old eggs. I remember coming into her kitchen and there would be eggs all over. Basically after thinking about it she collected eggs from other people and stored them. For how long I don't know but I'm amazed she never got food poisoning.

The other thing I remember was that she was not a very good cook. One time when I was 4 we were all dropped off at her house. And she was going to make us chili. All I can remember was I could not eat it and my brothers (when Mr Bull left the room) poured their chili back into the kettle. I can still hear her today "my you kids must be hungry do you want more?" ...."NO"said my brothers....Apparently they were smarter than me ....

Another thing I remember is sometimes being dropped off alone with her. She did not have any toys and always gave me keys to play with. So I would make up games about being a cop and putting people in jail or something like that. Back then us kids were so poor we had to "create" an imagination. In today's world kids have X Box or Wi and all that is done for them.

This week I have been thinking about many places "if I had a week off" that I would like to go back to and visit. The Old Yellow House and The Old House in the Woods are two places that are tops on my list.

Mrs Bull is no longer with us and I'm sure passed away many years ago. She was a sweet lady now that I think about it but when your four I guess you don't realize that. Very recently my mom gave me an old photo of her and I keep it in an album with my Grandmother.

People come and go in your life very fast so remember to try and have a little fun with your friends and family every day....

I'll be back next week.

The Black Widow