RRN Online Volume 348

February 01 '03

Volume 348

Lost Souls The Call Of The Wild

I remember Where'd He Go the first time I was lost, and while it happened fifty-something years ago, I recall much of it as clearly as if it were yesterday. I won't dwell on that experience, except to mention a few particulars. I was in the second semester of the Second Grade in Starkville, MS. My parents had moved our small family to Starkville only a couple of weeks earlier.

I had never ridden a school bus before and didn't know to pay attention to the bus number and not the driver's face. Because a substitute driver was running my route, I missed my bus after school and figured I'd walk home. When that plan failed, I headed toward downtown to find the Kroger store where my daddy worked. I got lost in the downtown maze of buildings and streets, but a barber realized my plight and offered to help. Soon afterwards, he and I walked into the Kroger store. A very sad and frightened little boy was overjoyed to find his daddy that afternoon.

My first experience with being lost lasted roughly an hour and a half. Approximately thirty years later, I was lost again, but for far less time, maybe as little as one and one-half minutes. Kenneth Prewett and I were traipsing around the back roads of a wildlife preserve near Van Vleet, MS, packing our bows and arrows in search of whitetail deer. We found a set of deer tracks that looked interesting, so we ventured off the fire lane a few yards into the wilderness.

We had gone less than one-hundred yards when it occurred to me, that I didn't know how to get back to the fire lane. I had weaved among the thick growth of small trees and rolling terrain, and changed directions in order to avoid this hill or that thicket until I was suddenly without any sense of direction.

"How do we get back?" I asked Kenneth, trying to conceal my panic.

"I don't know," he replied.

After what seemed an eternity, Kenneth pointed toward a tree and said, "I think we came down by that tree."

Neither of us was absolutely certain of our whereabouts, but acting on Kenneth's observation we found our way back to the fire lane. The next week I bought a compass. I've not been lost since that day in the woods, but I sometimes daydream while I’m driving and can't figure where I am for a few moments.

Like many outdoorsmen, I enjoy being in a forest, but I never go there alone. When Kenneth and I hunted deer together, we kept within hollering distance of each other. I know several hunters who go it alone, but I think the risk of injuries suffered from falling out of a tree or into a ravine and the possibility of getting lost offset the benefit of being at "one" with Nature.

Malcolm Lindsey of Ripley, MS, can attest to the former conditions, and Ken Hester, pastor of First Baptist Church, Pontotoc, MS, can elaborate on the latter. Twenty feet up a tree, Malcolm slipped on a frozen tree branch, fell, and broke an arm. On another occasion, he plunged down a ravine while turkey hunting and messed up a knee. Ken Hester waited too late (until dark) to leave his deer stand on January 1^st, this year, and spent about three hours lost in the woods of Union County.

Malcolm, until his retirement, was my barber. I've heard him account for his injuries many times. Ken Hester is my pastor, and I was not present at church the Sunday night he detailed his being lost in the woods, but I have listened to the audio tape.

Ken had chosen to go alone, probably because his friend Lee Hatcher was sick. Ken recounted his enjoyment of being alone in the woods, listening to the chatter of squirrels, seeing a beaver, hearing the trickling sounds of a nearby brook. As darkness began to envelop him, he inched down the tree with his portable, climbing stand. Once on the ground, he shouldered the stand and prepared to head for his truck, but was uncertain of the direction he should travel.

Hoping to find a familiar landmark, he turned on his flashlight, but, because of the thicket surrounding him, the light had no real value; it only illuminated the thicket.

Ken laughed, "I said 'I need to listen for the creek.' And, so to help me listen better I cut off my flashlight, and I couldn't hear the creek. I heard it fine up the tree, but now that I'm in the thicket I couldn't hear it."

Yet, being a guy, he called upon his innate sense of direction and mentally chartered his course. Forty-five minutes later, he was bleeding from briar scratches, sweating from exertion, and hopelessly lost. He thought if he could just get back to the tree he had hunted from he would be okay, but he had no idea where it was. Seeing the soft glow of lights from a distant community or town and making out the silhouette of a hill, he trudged to the top of the hill and rested beside a tree.

Sitting there, he admitted to himself he had done a lot of dumb things and made several bad decisions that evening. After beating himself up for three-fourths of an hour, he decided to make the best of his situation by becoming comfortable and preparing to spend the night in the woods.

He might well have sat there for the rest of the night, but the howls of nearby coyotes sent him scurrying up the tree.

"About 8 o'clock, I heard some coyotes. Some of you may have heard a coyote way off in a distance, and they sound kind of cool…but, when there's about a thousand coyotes twenty yards away…all of a sudden they don't become cool anymore…coyotes are a pack of wild dogs looking for a meat. I thought they were howling at me, saying, ‘We’re gonna have some white meat here tonight.’"

More than three hours lapsed from the time Ken began to lose his way in the woods until he heard two long blasts of a car horn. Lee Hatcher, upon discovering his pastor had not made it home from the hunt, went looking for Ken, found Ken’s truck and sounded the signal.

Ken recalled, "I heard two long horn blasts, and I want you to know, Amazing Grace has never sounded so pretty…he whooped, and I whooped, 'I’m l o s t.' Lee yelled back, ‘Come to the s o u n d.’"

Ken explained that he shimmied down the tree and walked toward the sound of Lee’s voice, losing the sound from time to time, but keeping his heading until he finally spotted the glow of Lee’s flashlight. Needless to say, Ken was jubilant upon seeing his friend’s face.

"If you get to Heaven and the first face you see is Lee Hatcher’s, you’re not necessarily in the wrong place," Ken joked. "I'll tell you right now, I hugged Lee Hatcher."

Ken Hester didn’t say whether or not he planned to hunt alone again, but I imagine he’ll be a lot better prepared his next trip and won’t stay in unfamiliar woods until darkness is upon him, anytime soon.

Sandwich II More Favorites

A couple of weeks ago, an article about sandwiches appeared in this newsletter. It was sort of a rush job, in that I failed to mention a few things I wanted to include. Plus, I only had time to poll a few folks, as to their favorite sandwich, before writing the article.

Since that time, a number of folks have responded to the question, "What's your favorite sandwich?"

Rick Greene, Brandon, MS:
My favorite sandwich has to be a club sandwich. I enjoy the taste that the combination of ham, turkey, and bacon provide together more so than either individually. I enjoy other "exotic" sandwiches also (e.g., a Reuben); but those require a craving. A club, however, is one that I know is tried and true - it is hard to mess up a club!!

Cheryl Radford, Southaven, MS:
In response to your sandwich research, my favorite sandwich is peanut butter and banana. My Mom used to make this for me. She would mash the banana and stir in the peanut butter. It was the best, and she was the best Mom! She loved peanut butter, and she must have eaten a lot of it when she was pregnant with me, because I love it too! Eating a peanut butter and banana sandwich is a "memory trip" for me.

Rayanne Adams, Belmont, MS:
My favorite sandwich by far is a REUBEN!!! A typical Reuben sandwich is made on rye bread with layers of corned beef, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut with Thousand Island dressing. They are served either toasted, steamed, or grilled.

My personal preference is to eat it grilled on wheat bread with mozzarella cheese since I don't particularly care for rye bread or Swiss cheese; however, I've never been known to turn down a Reuben yet.

I've been trying to convince the staff of Pepper's Deli Market, mainly my husband, to change the way they make their Reuben’s. They steam theirs instead of grilling them. Since Danver's Restaurant in Tupelo, has the best Reuben I've found for this area, I suppose they'll be getting my Reuben business.

If anyone has any suggestions on where to get a good Reuben sandwich or a better way to make one, please have them pass it along.

Shirley Hale, Pontotoc, MS:
We didn’t have sandwiches to eat when I was growing up. We ate biscuits or cornbread, and I don’t remember ever eating a sandwich until I married. I suppose my favorite sandwich is now a club sandwich.

Joel Hale, Pontotoc, MS:
You have to understand we were poor and white bread or what we called loaf bread was a real treat. Every once in while, my daddy would go to town and buy a loaf of bread, and when he could find bananas he’d buy them, too. He’d help make a banana pudding, a real banana pudding, and then whatever bananas were left over he’d mash up in peanut butter and make us peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Sometimes he’d spread peanut butter on the bread and then layer sliced bananas on top, but most of the time it was all mixed together. That’s the only sandwich I remember eating in my youth, but it was good.

Katherine Downing, Pontotoc, MS:
Katherine reports that her favorite sandwich is sliced turkey on white bread with mayonnaise and mustard. When pressed for an away-from-home favorite, she told me she doesn’t eat many sandwiches. I suppose that's not too odd, since she is still in grade school, and her mom is not a sandwich connoisseur, either. Though, her mom, Anna Downing, did say that peanut butter and banana (mashed together) was a favorite in her youth.

Betty Austin, Pontotoc, MS:
Betty is one of those persons who when asked, "What's your favorite sandwich?" asks, "What's yours?"

I explained my favorite was a BLT or simply a tomato sandwich, and then she remembered that she preferred a club sandwich, especially if someone else made it.

Katie Jackson, Pontotoc, MS:
Betty Austin reminded me this morning of the ones we got long ago at the Pontotoc Inn. Betty, Kathleen Ramsey and I would eat the BLT's there at least once a week; the best ever. How we miss the olden days and Kathleen.

Bing Crausby, Pontotoc, MS:
My favorite sandwich is a tomato sandwich.

Dr. & Mrs. Mac Molnar, Columbus, GA:
Jean, "The Syrup Lady" and her husband Mac became acquainted with a Muffuletta sandwich at Central Grocery Co. in the French Quarter of New Orleans and loved it. They got a Muffuletta recipe off the Internet and made one at home which they report as being "pretty good."

Charles Adams, Belmont, MS:
Charles' first response was "hamburger," but upon further reflection and consideration of sandwiches of the homemade variety, concluded the grilled cheese sandwich was indeed his favorite.

Beckie Adams, Belmont, MS:
"I'd say peanut butter and banana, with the bananas mashed up with the peanut butter."

Among the twenty-five respondents to my sandwich inquiry, more persons (8) named peanut butter and banana their favorite sandwich than any other made-at-home sandwich. Though not my favorite, I've eaten my share of peanut butter and banana through the years, and I imagine there are very few people in the South who've not eaten one at some point in their life. The Rueben took top honors in the hot sandwich and/or store-bought category with it being a favorite of five respondents.

When one is hungry and facing a limited number of options for sandwich fixings, most anything will do. I remember eating ketchup sandwiches, just plain ketchup between two slices of bread. The same could be said for mayonnaise, salad dressing, or sandwich spread, as I've eaten sandwiches with only one condiment separating the slices of bread. Back then my bread was always white bread. I recall eating a cracker sandwich one night while I was a student at Ole Miss. I was hungry, nothing was open, and the only foods I had in the room were crackers and loaf bread. It was sort of dry, but the bread kept me from getting crumbs everywhere.

In the sandwich world, Spam, the canned luncheon meat, gets bad press, but I grew up eating and enjoying Spam sandwiches. Similarly, a little potted meat and salad dressing make a decent sandwich, though I would presently substitute deviled ham for the potted meat. Fried bologna sandwiches were a definite treat in my younger years.

If your stomach can tolerate them, raw onions aren't half-bad on a sandwich spread with mayonnaise or salad dressing, and for a variation toss in a few dill pickles, or else just make a dill pickle sandwich.

Sandwiches continue to be a popular food item, whether made at home, bought at a deli, or consumed in a restaurant. If you have a favorite and want to share your story, please get in touch with one of our reporters, by phone, letter, or email.

Bodock Beau Magic Frog & Lonely Roo

Wishes are the stuff of dreams for some folks. Who wouldn't like to have three wishes granted? A kangaroo requires even less.

A woman was out golfing one day when she hit her ball into the woods. She went into the woods
to look for it and found a frog in a trap.

The frog said to her, "If you release me from this trap, I will grant you three wishes."

The woman freed the frog and the frog said, "Thank you, but I failed to mention that there was a condition to your wishes, that whatever you wish for, your husband will get 10 times more or
better!"

The woman said, "That would be okay," and for her first wish, she wanted to be the most beautiful
woman in the world.

The frog warned her, "You do realize that this wish will also make your husband the most handsome man in the world, an Adonis, that women will flock to."

The woman replied, "That will be okay because I will be the most beautiful woman and he will only
have eyes for me."

So, KAZAM - she's the most beautiful woman in the world! For her second wish, she wanted to be the richest woman in the world.

The frog said, "That will make your husband the richest man in the world and he will be ten times
richer than you."

The woman said, "That will be okay because what is mine is his and what is his is mine." So, KAZAM she's the richest woman in the world!

The frog then inquired about her third wish, and she answered, I'd like a mild heart attack."

Submitted by Ken Gaillard

Personals:
Single, brown, male kangaroo, seeks single, female kangaroo to hop around, make kangaroo babies and share green bushes. Hobbies include hopping, chewing on green stuff and hopping. Age not important. Must be a kangaroo, enjoy hopping and green stuff. Serious inquiries only.

Submitted by Powell Prewett

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