Welcome to my first entry of my
first blog. I will be hitting on a
varied palette of subjects, mostly with a Southern trend.
Some will wonder why “The
Sandspur Patch” as a title. I wanted
something that would evoke memories for the others of my generation and similar
background. I also wanted something that
would entice new readers to wonder what it could be about. As a Baby-boomer Southerner, a sandspur patch
is something wedged into my memories, between farm work and school. Any kid who has gone barefoot in Central
Florida outside of manicured lawns or parks has probably
encountered a sandspur patch. It’s not
something you forget. The initial pain
is unpleasant, but the worst usually comes from removing the sandspur from your
foot. As a child with lots of siblings,
there were occasional disputes. Ok,
fights, but none fatal. Sometimes, as
brothers and sisters can tell you, playing will escalate into a fight. One sure way of accomplishing this was to
have a ‘sandspur war’. You checked the
sandspur patch for the longest stem ending in the largest, most vicious cluster
of spurs. Holding by the safe end, you
proceeded to swing at your brother or sister to inflict a painful sting. These battles usually ended in someone
calling “Mama!” and the aggressor running for cover. I hope our sessions don’t end that way!
There are lots of people blogging
and so I hope you will find time to read mine after today. My hope is to get you thinking. Then I hope you will recall memories of your
own growing-up time. They may be happy,
sad or bittersweet. I hope you will find
it entertaining.
