Gray's Island
Where the Creek Bends
by
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Gray's Island was a small spot beside the Chickamauga Creek that runs through Graysville, Georgia. The creek flowed lazily carving out its path through the community on its way to the Tennessee River. There was a spot where the creek made a bend over some large rocks and formed a small rapids. Just beyond the rapids the water backed up twenty or thirty feet on the sloping gravels that made the island we so dearly loved. The water was a gentle slope going from ankle to knee deep until reaching the rapids where it became much deeper. The island was a large area of gravel where we could play, picnic and find arrowheads. It was surrounded by large trees that provided much needed shade on a hot summer day. Large and small trees lined the creek bank as far as the eye could see. It was a beautiful and peaceful place. As as a child this place was my paradise. It was a hot summer day, and we were all having a great time swimming in the creek. Then suddenly from out of nowhere came Pig Plemons riding a bicycle without a seat. I don't know how he rode that bike for miles and miles without a seat, but he did. Now that I think about it that is probably why he was so mean and why he had such a high pitched voice. Also, I don't know how he found out about our swimming hole. I suppose the Fryar boys must have told him. He was a big, fat boy and meaner than a snake. I don't remember his name. I guess we just called anyone we didn't like Pig. We hated Pig because he was so mean to us and was always threatening to take off his clothes and swim naked. We had to leave the creek and go home when he came around. Once we went to the creek to swim and he was in the creek naked. We threw his clothes up in a tree and ran for home. The water was deep where we swam. Just past the swimming area is where the creek bends and the water runs over a bunch of rocks that makes a small rapids area. We called that area the swift water. We never went past that area of the creek. A lot of reeds were growing near the rapids, and sometimes we would see a snake lurking around in them. On the other side of the inlet was a fallen tree that was down in the water, and it looked like the water would be very deep over there. We heard all kinds of stories about that area. We heard that there was a big hole and it would suck you down to never be seen again. I always hoped Pig would swim over there and disappear. We also heard that many years ago a boy drown there. We would rather take our chances meeting up with a snake than go to that side of the creek. That creek sure was a lot fun, but at times it was also a pretty scary place.
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About the Book
This book is a collection of poems and childhood memories. The poems are simple words from a simple mind. Some were written to be just plain silly in hopes of making you smile. The childhood memories are about growing up in the fifties when I spent most of my young years playing in the dirt, swimming in the creek and walking on railroad tracks. My family and I lived in a small house next door to a big, three-room school house. There was a railroad in front of our house and a creek in the back. The rest of the community was on the other side of the railroad tracks. I always say that I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Most memories are about Gray's Island where we spent the summers swimming in the creek and having many adventures. It was always boys chasing girls, dunking us in the creek, and having battles throwing pine cones and crabapples at each other. It was a time of innocence that could only be experienced during childhood.
About the Author
Shirley Brock Turney reflects back into her childhood years to tell stories of a simpler and more peaceful time when she grew up in the fifties. She was born in Hawkinsville, Georgia. She lived the first four years of her life in this small town. She always says, "Lucky am I, a child born on a cool, crisp morning under a clear, blue, October sky." However, born in that beautiful month, she was anything but a privileged child. Her family moved to North Georgia, and that is where she lived until she married and moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. She worked as a secretary. In later years, she attended Chattanooga State Community College. She left college to work for friends in their bookkeeping and tax service business. An education was very important to her, and she always regretted not getting her degree. She always said that an education was something no one could ever take away from you. She often says, "Memories and an education are the only things we take with us when we leave this earth and that there will be no Wells Fargo truck following the hearse to the cemetery." In 1963, Shirley married, John H. Turney, and they have two sons: Richard and Peter Turney. They also have five grandchildren. Making quilts is her passion. She also paints, knits and does many other crafts. She has done volunteer work and much of her time has been spent helping others. Sometimes, she thinks that charity should have been her middle name. She is a devoted mother, grandmother and an animal lover. Shirley never meets a stranger, and like Will Rogers she has never met anyone she didn't like.