CityView Magazine

20 | November/December 2019 "First of all, I think I have given you much already. For in- stance, I gave you the knowledge to not stick your tractor in the ditch anymore. Now you know to put only one tire at a time in the lowest point, thus giving you three at any one time to push through it. And, I recall that aer the lesson was taught, I gave you a key to the padlock so that you don't have to go around the gate anymore anyway. And I gave you Bobby Scarborough in Hatteras Village. As a result, you have caught crabs and scallops and drum and trout and flounder and even blue marlin that you otherwise would not have. Plus, you can now tell so well all the fishing stories he tells that people think you were there. "I allowed you to buy half of that powered wood splitter fif- teen years ago, didn't I? And once I finish with it, I am going to let you use my half for nothing." James began to exude feelings of generosity. "But since you are asking for more, I will give you that wicker rocking chair you're sitting in right now. It is the centerpiece of my decorations for this porch. You can rock away the late aernoons any time you please, or at least for as long as the chair lasts. I will throw in that wooden spindle that serves as a table for your drink. You will have barred owls and pos- sums and bats and bears to keep you from ever being alone. As far as the drinking goes, I give you one of my best drinking techniques for saving money. Buy one bottle of Maker's Mark bourbon in your life, finish it, then spend the rest of your life pouring Lord Calvert or Mattingly and Moore into it. Almost no one but you will ever know the difference and you can buy my daughter something nice with the money you save. "And another thing," he said, pointing a calloused and somewhat mangled finger at the battered tombstone just in front of the porch. "is very night, I give you a share of my friendship with old Mr. Pace there. Coons and possums are generally selfish beasts. Oh, they come around oen enough, but they mostly just want some of what you're eating. Good ole Mr. Pace there has been in the same place for nearly 100 years, cooling it on the edge of that swamp. He has never asked for a thing from me and he always listens to what I have to say. He will do the very same thing for you, even aer I am gone." I admit that I started the whole dowry conversation with James's flock of laying hens at the forefront of my mind. Still, as I began to take stock of all the things he had giv- en me in the past and especially of the new gis he was freely offering, I wondered if he and I were perhaps all square. "I have to tell you the truth though, Bill. While you are without question my favorite son-in-law, I do have to share my one disappointment." Oh, Lord. "ings would have been much better if Susie and you had lived an hour and a half closer. at would have had you 20 minutes away. Not so close as to be next door. But close enough that we would have had way more nights on this porch than we have." Yes. Paw Paw and I are all square. Susie and I can buy our own chickens with the money I will save on bourbon. State-wide coverage. Small-town service. nc ins.com *North Carolina Farm Bureau ® Mutual Insurance Co. *Farm Bureau ® Insurance of North Carolina, Inc. *Southern Farm Bureau ® Life Insurance Co., Jackson, MS *An independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Associa on James W. Cook 910-483-3893 Agency Manager NCAUBB44066 State-wide coverage. Small-town service. NCAUBB44066 State-wide coverage. Small-town service. nc ins.com *North Carolina Farm Bureau ® Mutual Insurance Co. *Farm Bureau ® Insurance of North Carolina, Inc. *Southern Farm Bureau ® Life Insurance Co., Jackson, MS *An independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Associa on James W. Cook 910-483-3893 Agency Manager NCAUBB44066

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