Out House

Out House

My only Brother died of colon cancer in the year 2000. He was 71 years
old. He was the only boy that lived out of the six boys that Mama had.
He was of course her favorite child, all of us girls knew that and
understood it. We pampered him to.

He never had any education, became a Pentacost preacher as a very young
man, could read his Bible front to Back and pronounce every word in it.
I loved him very much and was proud to call him my Brother. He said
this happened to him when he was about six years old.

If you leave the door to the out house open, chickens will go in there
at night to roost. We were told to always shut the door when we came
out. Well everybody forgets sometime. But he said he never forgot
again.

Mamas best hen had gotten in the toilet to roost and had fallen down
the hole. She could not reach her. Since he was the only one who would
fit he had to go in after her. Standing knee deep in crap, he was
trying to stick the hen up through the hole. She was fighting him all
the way trying to flap her wings, and squaking, Mama reached down and
took her by the feet and got her out. She sat the hen down outside, and
went back to help my Brother get out.

Mama looking down into the hole at my Brother started laughing, he said
that hen had slung crap all over him, he was trying real hard not to
cry, and she was trying real hard to stop laughing. After sliding back
down her arm a couple of times she managed to pull him up and out. Now
he was running for the pump and gaging. He said it took a good half
hour to wash that stuff off. Then they had to heat enough water for a
hot bath.

Mama said she never saw that chicken again, my Brother said if he ever
saw it again it would be too soon. When anyone went to the toilet after
that, he always asked them if they closed the door. For a while there
even if they said they closed it he would go look to be real sure it
was shut.