Sunday, June 27, 2010

Summer time - Get out Your Hoes!

How the memories last of significant times in our lives. The character building aspect of thinning (finger thinning with short-handled hoes), and hoeing impossibly long rows of sugar beets and beans remains in my memory forever. In retrospect, there is a fondness for those times when Dwight and I forged long-lasting relationship as brother and sister, and all animosity and differences were forgotten in our common labors. as we drank out of the common jug of water at the end of the row. They really are good memories, if one can forget the heat, the sweat, the mosquitoes, the gnats, the horseflies and deerflies.

5 comments:

Judy said...

Those bugs were the worst. No maybe it was the hot sun. Character building or not, you were stronger than Ann and me. Not just Dad and Mom, but the whole family are indebted to you because this was the one cash crop. So if I have never said thank you before, I am saying it now.

Dwight said...

We did have quite a time of it those weeks we went up one row and down the other, walk home for lunch, back in the afternoon, carting our water jug. What did we talk about all those hours? I felt lucky to be able to apply my high school graduation knowledge on hoeing weeds out of beets. But, amazingly, I remember the experience as a pleasant one and not with regret. We both had much in store for us after that summer interlude in the beet fields that provided us both with an experience we have never forgotten.

Ann said...

Elizabeth, I love this post and the optimistic title of your collage page that includes the word "enjoying". It goes to show we can all enjoy what we have to do if we so choose. The hot days in the beet field were truly a labor of necessity. May I just say ditto to what has been previously posted.
One observation - Judy's post is at 11:25 pm and Dwight's post is at 2:42 am. I hope you both got some sleep, eventually.

Elizabeth said...

Okay, it's someone else's turn. I know that you are all terribly busy, etc., etc., etc., but it would be a good thing if you would let us know what is going on in your lives????

Dwight said...

What animosity?