Paddy's Choice
by
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On hot summer days the barn was cool, especially in the early morning hours. One morning in July it seemed especially oppressive to Paddy lying in bed, so before the sun came up he quietly left the house and went to the barn, moved the roof boards aside and sat down near the top of the roof but low enough so that he couldn’t be seen from the house. He sat there in the cool breeze looking east over the farmland from his high perch.
He heard small animals scurrying around on the ground below and birds singing their happy early morning songs. All were busy finding food for their babies.
He saw car lights and dust clouds on the road where an occasional car would pass carrying milk to the creamery.
The horizon was getting red with glowing yellow colors and soon the sky was showing beautiful red and yellow streamers in all directions as the sun was appearing in all its glory. When it rose above the horizon the beautiful colors faded away. In a few minutes the old ‘Hay Maker,’ as farmers sometimes called it, appeared in full brilliance. It was getting hot when Paddy realized that he needed to get off the roof and help his Dad and Jack with morning chores.
He carefully put the boards back in place. He climbed down the ladder and when he entered the barn Jack looked at Paddy and said, "Dad- gummed, Paddy where have you been? I needed you here to bring Bessie in for milking."
"Sorry Jack I’ll try to do better."
"Well, by jiggers Paddy, you had better get on the ball around here." He smiled and said, "If you don’t, I’ll get you fired from this job."
Paddy acting like he was scared, replied that he didn’t want to get fired because he loved this job and the pay was good.
Jack said, "Yeah, I know how much pay you get—same as me."
Paddy was on his way out of the barn to herd more cows in for milking and thought to himself that he would never be a farmer but would find other more exciting things to do.
When the morning milking was finished and the cows put out to pasture the family gathered around the breakfast table and their Dad thanked the lord for the good and delicious food set before them and for their life and good health and we want to thank Mama, too for the things she does for us."
Mr. Murphy, Jack and the hired hand, which had just arrived, had gone out in the fields for the day. Paddy, being to young to work in the fields, was free to visit his friend Bill which he did nearly every day but he had to get home in time to bring in the cows from the pasture for milking.
By the end of the day their udders were full so they were eager to return to the milking barn and more often than not, all Paddy needed to do was call to the cows and they would head for the barn.
The fresh milk was run through a separator, which separated the cream from the milk. The rich cream was taken to the creamery and was sold for cash while the skim milk was mixed with a fattening meal purchased at the feed store in town and fed to the hogs. Some whole milk was saved for drinking, and cream was saved for coffee, churning butter, whipped cream, ice cream and the like.
When morning chores were done Paddy crossed the field and over the fence to Bills house. They decided they would visit an old cemetery that they heard people talking about. It wasn’t too far for them to walk because walking was something they did almost every time they were together. The old cemetery was overgrown with grass and weeds. They were not afraid but they had never visited a cemetery as old as this one appeared to be besides it was supposed to be haunted. They were reluctant to explore further and decided to leave and come back another day.
They no sooner started to walk away when a boy about their age came out of the trees surrounding the cemetery. The boys were startled and prepared to run but Paddy thought that would look foolish so he walked over, stuck out he hand and said, "My name is Paddy Murphy from down the road a ways to the north and this is my friend, Bill. What’s your name?"
The boy responded, "My name is Woody Wood. I live south of here about three miles and was just out for a walk, I have seen you fellow’s walking in the woods or in the fields at different times. I don’t have any real good friends; there are mostly girls in the school where I go, and not many boys so I’m real pleased to meet y’al."
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About the Book
The book covers the adolescent years of Paddy’s life. It relates events in grade school and his graduation into high school, and being elected Vice President of his class and the successful study clubs organized by he and Martha, the President of the freshmen class. He went to Houston Texas to attend St Thomas College and while there purchased 100 acres of swamp land for $100.00 and had the Forestry Dept. plant 500 bald Cypress seedlings on the high spots--in other words out of the water. He returned home to visit his family and school mates. Martha was working in a town near the school and met him at the train station. She hoped he would find a good job near her so that they could see each other often but finding a good job was no better than it was in Texas. He took a job with a Railroad as a Machinist Apprentice.
About the Author
Only the Author could meet up with a skunk caught in his trap and still get to his third grade class only fifteen minutes late or wave his red shirt at a two thousand pound bull and successfully run from being gored by a very anger animal.
His grades were excellent. He went to Houston, Texas to study at St. Thomas College. He excelled in Debate and Public speaking. He loved to write essays to magazines and newspapers about the treatment of ‘The Colored in Texas’ and the need for universal government sponsored medical insurance for those 65 and over. In addition to writing, he painted pictures of old barns and winter scenes or anything of natural beauty that enhanced his imagination to write and tell interesting stories.