HE HAD HIS NIGHTS AND DAYS MIXED UP!
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Once upon a time, along about that good year of 1960,
we lived in a nice, quiet, little, West Texas town---that is,
my beautiful young wife and my handsome, young, very
blond-headed, little son of two-and-a-half years, and I.
I was music director at a church there and commuted to
a Seminary in Ft.Worth in the summers. I had a really
fine children's choir, ages 9-12; in our vernacular, they
were called a "junior choir." I had some reputation around
for being "good" with children's voices.
So now that we have the setting, I will proceed with my
tale. For some reason, there were two "main streets" in
that town. It was a kind of a shopping center for a wide
area. It was like---two streets "created equal."That was
nice...more places to shop!
One Saturday, the day before Easter, I was downtown
and pulled into an old-fashioned "nose-in" parking place.
I proceeded to get a haircut and decided to walk around
a bit! Remember the "Five and Ten Cent" stores from those
days? I passed one in my desultory rambling walk---uh
oh, wait a minute. I rewound myself and backed up, and lo
and behold, there was an absolute WINDOW-FULL
of the cutest little yellow baby chicks---that you ever saw!
Oh my! (Wasn't it Joyce Kilmer who said:
"Only God can make a baby chick!?") Okay, so it was a tree.
They were busy little creatures, running all around and
falling over each other.You could hear the "peep-peeping"
or the "cheep-cheeping" all the way through the window.
(Which it was, I'm not sure---consonants are hard to discern
in brand new baby chicks.)
You guessed it. The next thing I knew, I was headed home
with a little specially-designed, vented box, containing one
American-born yellow baby chick, sex undetermined,
weighing perhaps five ounces! Plus a sheet of instructions, which
we will refer to hereafter as "the manual." Boy oh boy! Would
my little son be excited!
So I went home with this little yellow gift from above. My memory
is vague on what the Beloved Wife thought about this new addition
to the family.Maybe it's just as well! (My position was, if she could
bring a new member home, so could I!)
Accordingly, I fixed up a little corral-thing in the kitchen, complete
with jar lids filled with milk, cream-of-wheat, and water---all sitting
on a very thick "potty-proof" newspaper.
My calculations about the wonderful-ness of my purchase began
to go awry very early on. For you see, my two-and-a-half year old
lost interest in our new baby chick/family member right quick. But
worse than that, our little chick "had his days and nights mixed up,"
as my dad used to say about me! He was "peep-peeping" at all
hours---my wife said it was "cheep-cheeping!" I even entertained
the thought of rocking him/her in our rocker, and doing a bit of
"bye yo bye yo baby bye yo..." but never resorted to it.
After four or five days (and nights) we realized that something
had to be done. We were "red-eyed" and our church job required
that we be down at the church almost every night. What to do...
We were realizing that this chick could live with us to old age---
his and ours!
One of my junior choir members, Nancy, age nine, lived right
across the street from us. That morning I opened the drape and
looked out...and turned around to walk away... wait, there was
little Nancy over there getting in some roller-skating early, before
school.
Hmmm-mm. A plan was forming in my mind. I slipped out the
door and crossed the street and said to dear little Nancy (one
of my favorite kids): "ER, Nancy, how would you like to have
the sweetest, cutest, softest, cuddliest, peeping-est, little yellow
baby chick you can imagine for YOUR VERY OWN?"
I said something like that, and it must've been good, for she,
without hesitation, said "YES!!!!" I said, "Better ask your mother!"
So the transfer was made. Nancy proceeded to receive from me:
one American yellow baby chick (containing many peeps), in a
vented box; and several jar lids, a box of cream-of-wheat, and a
manual. Whew! It was over. A weight had been lifted. Sleep
would come again to our house!
This was the last time I ever did anything foolish like that until
1976, when I saw that little spotted Beagle puppy in the pet store
window there at Menaul and Eubank. Did I mention that I had a
weakness for little spotted puppies? I took him home! Ah, but
that's another story!
Soon after giving our chick to Nancy, we were offered a church
music position in Albuquerque and have lived in this best-place-
in-the-world for 52 years, two months and two days. I don't know
what happened to Nancy and HER chick.
I often think of my wonderful little kids in the various children's
choirs where I served. What is more marvelous in this world than
little kids 9-12? They are so full of life, so loving, so loyal---so
ready to do anything that is fun? They wore me out playing
"SIMON SAYS!" Yes, they are every bit as great as…little yellow
baby chicks!
So one day, awhile back, I remembered little Nancy. My error
is that I always recall kids the way they were. She was nine.
I thought----wouldn't it be neat just to see Nancy on the street
somewhere….then it suddenly hit me: I'd need to look for a
cute 63 year old lady, perhaps leading a 54 year old chick on a
leash…and who knows…a grandkid, age 9?
Ah, memories. Isn't life worth it all?
(Dear God, wherever Nancy is---please bless her sweet heart….
and all my other little kids. Amen)
----30-----
by Mil
8-3-13
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