The Home Front
Growing up on a farm often involves the whole family. Lots of laughter, hard work, good food, and stories that will be told for years to come are the results of this labor. When kids are little, they “help” their family and learn as they go. This may take a little more patience for the farmer, but it is certainly worth it when those same children grow up and become knowledgeable helping hands on the farm. However, sometimes things do go awry. Such is the case when my husband, David, and his big sister, Phyllis, decided to take matters into their own hands to “help” their daddy spread fertilizer.
Keeping the fields and pastures in top condition by spreading fertilizer is done yearly. David’s dad, Jack, had a spreader truck that he used on his place and for other farmers as well. One day, he had both children with him to “help” him spread fertilizer. Now David was only six years old, and Phyllis was eight. After loading the fertilizer, they headed to the field. Now, when spreading fertilizer, the ratio is set for how much to spread per acre, then the farmer sets a slow speed on the truck and guides it to ensure good coverage in the field. Dad got everything set, and little David and Phyllis were bouncing along in the truck cab with him. They were going very slowly to ensure good coverage. All was well. Dad needed to check and see how much they had left in the hopper of the spreader truck. So, he told David, who had a little experience steering tractors, “David, hold this steering wheel straight, and Phyllis, press the gas a little bit to keep it running while I go back and check to make sure the hopper is clean.” He said he would only be a minute. So, with the truck still bouncing along slowly in low gear in a straight line through the large field, Dad stepped out onto the sideboard, shut the door, and headed back to check the status.
David climbed into the seat, took the wheel, and held it straight, while Phyllis got on the floorboard to press the gas. Now Phyllis couldn’t see out, but she could see the speedometer. She said, “David, I’m looking at the speedometer, and we are going zero. Daddy said to keep it at a low speed. What do you think we should do?” David responded, “Press harder.” And she did. “It’s still zero. I’ll press it even harder,” Phyllis said. So, she kept pressing harder and harder on the gas, but that speedometer was still at zero. Finally, David said, “Phyllis, Dad said to keep it in a straight line, but we are getting really close to running into that fence and the woods at the edge of the field. Do you think I should turn?” She agreed, “Yes, turn it.” At about that time, several things happened at once. David turned that steering wheel hard, Phyllis pushed the gas even harder, the door jerked open on its hinges and swung wide, and there was Jack hanging on with feet a flying, scrambling to pull himself into the cab, “What are y’all doing? I’ve been holding on for dear life!” Dad took the wheel and brought the truck to a stop. The crisis was averted. He got them all settled down. Then they told him how they tried so hard to get the speed up and how they pushed so hard on that gas pedal. Glad that all was well, Dad had a good laugh and told them that the speedometer was broken! He decided to wait a little bit longer before he let them take the wheel again.
The farming adventure has been told time and again with much laughter as we all have the mental image of David at the wheel, Phyllis on the floor, and Dad hanging on for dear life as that big spreader truck bounced across that field. Enjoy one of Jack’s favorite meals.
-Danna Standridge, Author of Happiness is Homemade Y’all! For speaking engagements and cooking demonstrations, email [email protected]. Join her in the kitchen on Facebook @DannaSwannStandridge and YouTube @dannastandridge8749.
Lorene’s One Pot Meal
Ingredients:
- 1 large head of cabbage, quartered
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 link of smoked sausage (we use Conecuh brand)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
In a Dutch oven, layer potatoes and carrots. Place the quartered cabbage on top. Cut sausage into 2-inch pieces and place on top of cabbage. Add 2 cups water and cover. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes until vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve with cornbread.
