It was one of those scorching hot days. Not a leaf was moving. It felt like you were in a sauna. It was late May of 1974. Our trailer was unbearable. Everywhere was unbearable!
"I'm wondering if you would like to cultivate the new corn this afternoon?" asked Mark as he got up from the lunch table and carried his dish to the sink, "I would, but that tractor just has to get back together. "
"Well, I've never done that job before, but I can't stay in here all afternoon for sure."
I'll take it over and start. You can come in about a half hour or so." With a kiss on my cheek, he was gone.
After clearing the table and doing up the dishes, I made up my jug, put a couple chocolate chip cookies in a bag, grabbed my cap and was out the door. I headed up the road north and turned in at the field road. Dust flew up behind the pickup as I headed down past the old barn and through the pasture gate and on down to the creek bank.
I parked there beside a huge elm tree and walked the rest of the way, down across the dry creek bed and up the other side and slipped under the barb wire gate into the field .Jumping across the little corn rows, I made my way to the north side of the field where Mark was going back and forth.
He was using a little two row cultivator behind Grandpa's little Ford tractor. It would take most of the afternoon to finish this job.
"What you have to do is straddle the rows with your front tires. At the ends, don't be afraid to get out into the waterway with the tractor, lift the cultivator out of the ground and turn around and start back down the next two rows. It's pretty easy really."
"Mercy, it sure is hot out here," I said hooking my jug to a wire on the tractor. "You're going to be working in the shop, right?
"Yeah, I'll come check on you once in a while. You have water, I see, and a few cookies."
"With this heat and as quiet and muggy as it is out here it sure reminds me of storms, you know. PLEASE watch the sky and come out if it looks bad, or I'll be coming in!"
"Just don't try to cross the creek with this outfit cause you'll get high centered." he said. "I about did getting over here."
"Okay, but PLEASE watch the sky!"
I settled on the tractor seat, put it in gear and started down the row. The sun beat down on my back and arms and listening to the hum of the tractor made my eyes not want to stay open.The rows were long, and I could feel myself relaxing too much. I started to sing at the top of my lungs to stay awake. After all, who could hear me out here?
After about two hours, I had to get off the tractor or something, or I was going to fall off when I fell asleep! I pulled up under the trees, but before I could get off, I laid back in the tractor seat and put my feet on the steering wheel. I was going to rest my eyes for a minute.
What was that? I opened my eyes and took my legs down off the steering wheel, rubbing the back of my neck. I must have drifted off to sleep for a bit. There it was again...a low distant rumble!
I better get going if I'm going to get this done. Man, I need a drink first. I took a long satisfying drink of that cool water and smiled. Nothing taste better than that! Now a cookie and I'm off. Yuck! these things are soft and the chocolate chips are a mess. Licking my fingers, I put the tractor in gear and headed west down the row.
After I got past the creek trees I saw where the rumble came from. In the southwest just on the horizon, laid a dark blue green cloud of sorts. Oh, interesting! Now the waiting game starts! Will Mark see this or will I get "chicken" and go in? Which will come first?
Well at least the good old hot sun is still shining up there. I'm sure that is why those clouds are looking so black. "The sun on them always does that," I kept telling myself over and over. Trying to talk myself into staying and getting this finished.
I looked north and then south over the field. It appeared that I was a little more than half done. That made me pretty happy. I wonder how long I actually slept back there? Oh well...it was either stop or run off in the creek. Or worse yet...plow out a whole row of corn! Now, that would really make Mark happy!
At the end of the row, I lifted the cultivater and started back east. The rumbling is getting more frequent now. Just a constant rumble. I look back over my shoulder...sure enough, that black blue cloud continues to climb right at me! Where is my "most beloved"? Can he not hear that rumble?
I'm at the end of the row again. I hurry and make the turn here, because I'm right under those huge cottonwoods and you know what happens when you're under trees and lightening strikes! "You know, it's really pretty dumb of me to stay out here," I hear myself say out loud. One good thing is that I haven't seen any lightening streaks yet. The first one of those babies, and I'm out of here!
What does all of that rumbling mean? Just rain? Or maybe hail? Or a tornado? All these thoughts go roaring through my head as I will myself to keep going as the bank of clouds kept climbing further up in the sky. Rumbling, rumbling.
I'm at the far end of the field now, about ready to make my turn. All of a sudden, the sun is gone, the wind starts to blow, the temperature starts to change. The rumbling gets louder and closer.
I make a fast turn and head back east. Where is that husband of mine? Yikes! Good grief, that was one of those straight down strikes! A clap of thunder follows immediately. I'm sorry ... but I'm out of here, high centered or not! My heart is pounding a mile a minute! I shove the throttle as far up as I can. Will I ever get to the end of this row? Where is my h u s b a n d?
I finally reach the end of the row, raise it out of the ground and make a beeline to the gate. I stop, jump off the tractor, and run to the gate. I squeeze the post together and thank goodness the gate comes loose. Dropping it to the ground, I run back to the tractor. Bamb! There it is again. I sure hope that I get past that elm tree before another one comes. I should have left long ago. Oh well, no time for "should haves."
I slowly work my way down into the creek bed, looking for anything that would make me high center. All of a sudden, from out of no where comes a loud boom and I freeze! Stopped right there in the creek bed. Wow! I have to get out of here. I give it full throttle ahead, my back tires spin, and I just plum sit there, not moving an inch! The tractor won't move. I put it out of gear and get off. With shaky legs, I look under it. I'm high centered just like I was told would happen! But he promised that he would come out and check on me! I didn't know if to be mad or worried. Why wasn't he coming?
My heart was pounding now! What do I do? Well, it serves him right if this whole contraption goes down the creek! I turn off the tractor and start to run.
I ran past the old barn, fell to the ground and rolled under the gate, hop up and take off down the field road. Phew, I need to walk. I am breathing so hard. Heart pounding, I walk on as fast as I can. It's getting darker. I keep walking. I make it to the road. Then I see it. The old red pickup making its way toward me. It's about time! Where was he?
My heart slowed to about 80 beats per minute rather than its 200 it was doing a minute ago. Just the sight of help coming calmed me down a bit I guess.
He stopped right in the middle of the road and I hopped in. "Where in the world were you?" I asked him, not knowing if I should be mad or glad!
"I had the shop doors closed and running the air compressor. I guess I didn't hear all that thunder. Sorry. Where is the tractor? Wait...let me guess...high centered?"
"Your absolutely correct, plus the pasture gate is laying flat on the ground! I was scared honey!"
"I know I can't get upset with you cause I should of watched closer. I get busy with something and time just gets past. We'd better go rescue the tractor."
"But the lightening and it's under that stupid tree."
"We have to work together honey. We have to get that tractor out of the creek. It's Grandpa's, you know." he told me as we drove back down that old field road.
"Yes, but do I have to become a widow over Grandpa's tractor?" I asked about ready to cry.
"We'll be okay. Really," he said as he backed the pickup as close to the tractor as he could, got out and hooked one end of the chain to the tractor and the other to the pickup. It is starting to rain a little now.
"I'll run up and shut the gate, and then when I'm ready put this in first and pull me out," he said holding his hand over his eyes to keep the rain out.
Why oh why does God make men so stubborn anyway! What if lightening strikes that tree?
He sits on the tractor seat, and waves his arm up and down. I put it in first, give it some gas and pray it pulls him out. Rain was really coming down now. He was getting soaked. I turned on the wipers. I run back and unhook the chain and throw it in the back of the pickup.
"Just let the tractor set here. It's safe. Lets go." A soaked man hops in beside me and we're off.
Heading home, the rain pours down, the lightening flashes, and thunder crashes. Out on the main road now, the wipers are on high so we can see. We turn the corner and head up the lane.
"I think we need to go to Grandpa's. I don't trust trailers in this," I hollered, pulling into their drive way and running in the front door.
"Get to the basement," Grandpa hardly got it out when wham! Hail! Big ones!
"Oh look out," that was Grandma. She held her head in her hands looking at their big living room window. "Be careful of the glass!"
There on the floor lay window glass all over. Hail had broke it out.
"We have to get to the basement" Grandma hollered above the beating of hail. "Just leave it for now."
We sat huddled together under the basement steps as hail, rain, wind and lightening beat down on us.
"Where's Grandpa?"
"Oh, I'm sure he's standing on the porch watching the whole thing. He's funny that way," Grandma said. "I'm staying down here."
It stopped as fast as it started.
"You can come up now," Grandpa hollered down at us.
What a mess! The big window on the west was broke. Pieces of glass lay everywhere there on the soaked carpet. I thought of those little tender corn plants over in the field. Was anything left of them?
While Grandma and I carefully started to pick up glass and mop water out of the carpet with old rags, Mark and Grandpa made their way through mud and water to get a piece of plywood to nail up to the window.
As we made our way back to our little house, I took a deep breath of rainy fresh air. I looked to the north east where the dark blue cloud hung and heard the low rumble as it passed on to somewhere else. A frog started its song somewhere beside the mud puddle.
"I'm so glad you're safe," Mark said to me as he reached for my hand. "I need to be more aware of the weather from now on."
I wrap his arm around me and snuggled up close. "All's well that ends well," I say with a smile.
"I'm wondering if you would like to cultivate the new corn this afternoon?" asked Mark as he got up from the lunch table and carried his dish to the sink, "I would, but that tractor just has to get back together. "
"Well, I've never done that job before, but I can't stay in here all afternoon for sure."
I'll take it over and start. You can come in about a half hour or so." With a kiss on my cheek, he was gone.
After clearing the table and doing up the dishes, I made up my jug, put a couple chocolate chip cookies in a bag, grabbed my cap and was out the door. I headed up the road north and turned in at the field road. Dust flew up behind the pickup as I headed down past the old barn and through the pasture gate and on down to the creek bank.
I parked there beside a huge elm tree and walked the rest of the way, down across the dry creek bed and up the other side and slipped under the barb wire gate into the field .Jumping across the little corn rows, I made my way to the north side of the field where Mark was going back and forth.
He was using a little two row cultivator behind Grandpa's little Ford tractor. It would take most of the afternoon to finish this job.
"What you have to do is straddle the rows with your front tires. At the ends, don't be afraid to get out into the waterway with the tractor, lift the cultivator out of the ground and turn around and start back down the next two rows. It's pretty easy really."
"Mercy, it sure is hot out here," I said hooking my jug to a wire on the tractor. "You're going to be working in the shop, right?
"Yeah, I'll come check on you once in a while. You have water, I see, and a few cookies."
"With this heat and as quiet and muggy as it is out here it sure reminds me of storms, you know. PLEASE watch the sky and come out if it looks bad, or I'll be coming in!"
"Just don't try to cross the creek with this outfit cause you'll get high centered." he said. "I about did getting over here."
"Okay, but PLEASE watch the sky!"
I settled on the tractor seat, put it in gear and started down the row. The sun beat down on my back and arms and listening to the hum of the tractor made my eyes not want to stay open.The rows were long, and I could feel myself relaxing too much. I started to sing at the top of my lungs to stay awake. After all, who could hear me out here?
After about two hours, I had to get off the tractor or something, or I was going to fall off when I fell asleep! I pulled up under the trees, but before I could get off, I laid back in the tractor seat and put my feet on the steering wheel. I was going to rest my eyes for a minute.
What was that? I opened my eyes and took my legs down off the steering wheel, rubbing the back of my neck. I must have drifted off to sleep for a bit. There it was again...a low distant rumble!
I better get going if I'm going to get this done. Man, I need a drink first. I took a long satisfying drink of that cool water and smiled. Nothing taste better than that! Now a cookie and I'm off. Yuck! these things are soft and the chocolate chips are a mess. Licking my fingers, I put the tractor in gear and headed west down the row.
After I got past the creek trees I saw where the rumble came from. In the southwest just on the horizon, laid a dark blue green cloud of sorts. Oh, interesting! Now the waiting game starts! Will Mark see this or will I get "chicken" and go in? Which will come first?
Well at least the good old hot sun is still shining up there. I'm sure that is why those clouds are looking so black. "The sun on them always does that," I kept telling myself over and over. Trying to talk myself into staying and getting this finished.
I looked north and then south over the field. It appeared that I was a little more than half done. That made me pretty happy. I wonder how long I actually slept back there? Oh well...it was either stop or run off in the creek. Or worse yet...plow out a whole row of corn! Now, that would really make Mark happy!
At the end of the row, I lifted the cultivater and started back east. The rumbling is getting more frequent now. Just a constant rumble. I look back over my shoulder...sure enough, that black blue cloud continues to climb right at me! Where is my "most beloved"? Can he not hear that rumble?
I'm at the end of the row again. I hurry and make the turn here, because I'm right under those huge cottonwoods and you know what happens when you're under trees and lightening strikes! "You know, it's really pretty dumb of me to stay out here," I hear myself say out loud. One good thing is that I haven't seen any lightening streaks yet. The first one of those babies, and I'm out of here!
What does all of that rumbling mean? Just rain? Or maybe hail? Or a tornado? All these thoughts go roaring through my head as I will myself to keep going as the bank of clouds kept climbing further up in the sky. Rumbling, rumbling.
I'm at the far end of the field now, about ready to make my turn. All of a sudden, the sun is gone, the wind starts to blow, the temperature starts to change. The rumbling gets louder and closer.
I make a fast turn and head back east. Where is that husband of mine? Yikes! Good grief, that was one of those straight down strikes! A clap of thunder follows immediately. I'm sorry ... but I'm out of here, high centered or not! My heart is pounding a mile a minute! I shove the throttle as far up as I can. Will I ever get to the end of this row? Where is my h u s b a n d?
I finally reach the end of the row, raise it out of the ground and make a beeline to the gate. I stop, jump off the tractor, and run to the gate. I squeeze the post together and thank goodness the gate comes loose. Dropping it to the ground, I run back to the tractor. Bamb! There it is again. I sure hope that I get past that elm tree before another one comes. I should have left long ago. Oh well, no time for "should haves."
I slowly work my way down into the creek bed, looking for anything that would make me high center. All of a sudden, from out of no where comes a loud boom and I freeze! Stopped right there in the creek bed. Wow! I have to get out of here. I give it full throttle ahead, my back tires spin, and I just plum sit there, not moving an inch! The tractor won't move. I put it out of gear and get off. With shaky legs, I look under it. I'm high centered just like I was told would happen! But he promised that he would come out and check on me! I didn't know if to be mad or worried. Why wasn't he coming?
My heart was pounding now! What do I do? Well, it serves him right if this whole contraption goes down the creek! I turn off the tractor and start to run.
I ran past the old barn, fell to the ground and rolled under the gate, hop up and take off down the field road. Phew, I need to walk. I am breathing so hard. Heart pounding, I walk on as fast as I can. It's getting darker. I keep walking. I make it to the road. Then I see it. The old red pickup making its way toward me. It's about time! Where was he?
My heart slowed to about 80 beats per minute rather than its 200 it was doing a minute ago. Just the sight of help coming calmed me down a bit I guess.
He stopped right in the middle of the road and I hopped in. "Where in the world were you?" I asked him, not knowing if I should be mad or glad!
"I had the shop doors closed and running the air compressor. I guess I didn't hear all that thunder. Sorry. Where is the tractor? Wait...let me guess...high centered?"
"Your absolutely correct, plus the pasture gate is laying flat on the ground! I was scared honey!"
"I know I can't get upset with you cause I should of watched closer. I get busy with something and time just gets past. We'd better go rescue the tractor."
"But the lightening and it's under that stupid tree."
"We have to work together honey. We have to get that tractor out of the creek. It's Grandpa's, you know." he told me as we drove back down that old field road.
"Yes, but do I have to become a widow over Grandpa's tractor?" I asked about ready to cry.
"We'll be okay. Really," he said as he backed the pickup as close to the tractor as he could, got out and hooked one end of the chain to the tractor and the other to the pickup. It is starting to rain a little now.
"I'll run up and shut the gate, and then when I'm ready put this in first and pull me out," he said holding his hand over his eyes to keep the rain out.
Why oh why does God make men so stubborn anyway! What if lightening strikes that tree?
He sits on the tractor seat, and waves his arm up and down. I put it in first, give it some gas and pray it pulls him out. Rain was really coming down now. He was getting soaked. I turned on the wipers. I run back and unhook the chain and throw it in the back of the pickup.
"Just let the tractor set here. It's safe. Lets go." A soaked man hops in beside me and we're off.
Heading home, the rain pours down, the lightening flashes, and thunder crashes. Out on the main road now, the wipers are on high so we can see. We turn the corner and head up the lane.
"I think we need to go to Grandpa's. I don't trust trailers in this," I hollered, pulling into their drive way and running in the front door.
"Get to the basement," Grandpa hardly got it out when wham! Hail! Big ones!
"Oh look out," that was Grandma. She held her head in her hands looking at their big living room window. "Be careful of the glass!"
There on the floor lay window glass all over. Hail had broke it out.
"We have to get to the basement" Grandma hollered above the beating of hail. "Just leave it for now."
We sat huddled together under the basement steps as hail, rain, wind and lightening beat down on us.
"Where's Grandpa?"
"Oh, I'm sure he's standing on the porch watching the whole thing. He's funny that way," Grandma said. "I'm staying down here."
It stopped as fast as it started.
"You can come up now," Grandpa hollered down at us.
What a mess! The big window on the west was broke. Pieces of glass lay everywhere there on the soaked carpet. I thought of those little tender corn plants over in the field. Was anything left of them?
While Grandma and I carefully started to pick up glass and mop water out of the carpet with old rags, Mark and Grandpa made their way through mud and water to get a piece of plywood to nail up to the window.
As we made our way back to our little house, I took a deep breath of rainy fresh air. I looked to the north east where the dark blue cloud hung and heard the low rumble as it passed on to somewhere else. A frog started its song somewhere beside the mud puddle.
"I'm so glad you're safe," Mark said to me as he reached for my hand. "I need to be more aware of the weather from now on."
I wrap his arm around me and snuggled up close. "All's well that ends well," I say with a smile.
Wow, what a storm, but it sure does sound like Kansas! Doyle Copeland used to say, "Whatever Kansas does for weather, she does wholeheartedly!" The summers I worked for Max and Edna Craig, I'd go for a nighttime stroll when there was a thunder and lightning storm (but not under the trees). I never did experience such a damaging hailstorm, though. I like your finish line: "All's well that ends well."
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