It's Time For A Laugh!

Notes for JESSE GENERAL CANNON, SR.: As told by Jess Cannon, Jr. ~ When it was time for peanut picking time the Cannons would go from field to field helping people pick their peanuts. I believe we were helping Uncle Buster with his field. We started home that evening driving the mule and we had a board on the wagon to sit on to driving the next farm to pick more peanuts. Before you started home we would put that board (which had a spring on it) back up on the wagon to drive home. It rode good. We got up on the seat and was driving home and Jess, Jr. kept asking his daddy to let him drive. He said - no you've been driving all day, you don't want to run this mule. He's tired. Jesse would do the driving. Jess, Jr. said, "alright".



Jess, Jr., kept sitting there and of course him being a boy and riding and messing around, there were peanuts all over the floor of the wagon. Jess, Jr., began to pick up those loose peanuts and started flicking them at the mule. Naturally the mule would swish his tail every once in a while and he kept thumping those peanuts. Soon the mule swished his tail to one side and Jess, Jr. thumped a peanut under his tail. The mule clamped down on it (in his butt) and he started running and his daddy fell over the seat in the wagon. That mule run all the way home and right up into the barn, hitting a tree and knocking one of the wheels off. Daddy couldn't get up. He was hollering "Whoa, whoa, whoa" and he was laying down in the bottom of the wagon and couldn't get up and the seat fell down on top of him. Of course, Jess, Jr., being a young boy I was in the leaning up against the back of the wagon, enjoying the ride. Daddy was flopping around, trying the stop the mule. Of course, Jess, Jr., was enjoying that ride and was worried when the wheel came off. During peanut picking time those wagons were important so his daddy had to repair the wheel, so Jess, Jr., just knew he had had it now. Daddy didn't say a word, he just cooled off. The mule had lost almost half of the harness, so daddy unharnessed him and put him in the barn. It was almost supper time, so of course, I stayed to myself. Mama called to let us know it was supper time. We went into the house to sit down to supper when mama asked daddy, "What was going on out there. I see you didn't have much conversation and I see one of the wheels fell off of the wagon." Daddy told mama, "I think you should keep your son at home tomorrow. I don't think he has much business driving that mule." Mama said, "well what did he do?" Daddy said, "He was flipping peanuts in the mule's ass and the mule ran away, it tore up the wagon and I couldn't stop it."
Monday, July 7th 2008 - 11:47:55 AM