WHAT IN THE NAME OF SENSE

Nov 19, 2013 by Gail Hatton

B: Now boys, I heared things, I dunno what it was, I was blamed if I didn’t, one thing, if I know what that was, and I never . . .
D: What was that?
B: . . . ghosts, that’s one thing I never did, wasn’t never afraid of, and that’s . . . Well, we lived down on Williams River and we bought some [railroad] shanty cars and he got unloadin’ and he bought his shanty car and so we moved up on the hill, and, well we lived there seven years. SoIslep’inaroom,wellituzinahall,notaroombuttheyuza hall went there and I slept here and they had some s up there and a lot of fruit up on, over my bed you know, had a lot of fruit up over my bed, and so, went to bed one night and, and uh, I heared sump’n’. You know how fruit’ll spew out, out uh them, you know, them old time jars with rubber on ’em. Well, I heared that spewin and I thought it’d run down on the bed, you know. I decided I’d get up, and a how come I said well the fruit’s comin this mornin, I said I hear it spewin out a the jar, so I got up an I looked in it an I didn’t see nuthin, couldn’ hear it, I listened a good while an I didn’ hear that anymore. Just as I lit the light hit, it quit then, right then it quit. I didn’ hear it n’more. ‘N I looked an looked n’ I couldn’ find it. So I sat around there on the bed a good while and never heared it and as soon as I put the light out I had n’more hit the bed, it started the same thing, just exactly. Well, I got up. An I took the jars down that time. An I couldn see there wasn’t ary one spoiled, so I set ’em back up. I set there awhile and I never heared that noise, just as I put the light out. No more’n I put the light out and got in bed, it started that same thing, that spewin.
D: Who all was there?
B: Well, they ‘uz my mom, and my wife; course that ‘uz before we was married, an a girl we raised, she was there, an, an lessee, they ‘uz two of my sisters there. An well, I said it can just run on the bed. I’m goin to bed an goin to sleep. And it, I jus’, cause I whenever I, back then, I could go to sleep just in a little bit. . . . and I could go to sleep; but anyhow I laid there awake for a few minutes and it jus’ kep’ on a’spewin, n’ spewin, an afterwhile it just all at once it quit, an afterwhile I heared somethin in the bed like a chain, a chain, a big chain rattlin right in under the bed. Now I just laid still, and still I didn’t pay no attention, i wadn’t scared, never thought o’nothin. Well, I didn’ know what that was. And afterwhile it just picked up the bed, just picked her up an’ I was a’tiltin’ out. It jus’ turned, jus’ picked the bed up an’ I was jus’ tiltin’ out an’ I jumped as fur from here, I’ll bet you a dollar, I jumped fur from here when the bed started t’ upset I jumped out, an’ I mean I jumped a long way, just as fur as I could jump. An’ I said “Now boys, anybody can sleep in that bed that wants to, but” I said “I ain’t”. Now I don’ know what that was, but I ain’t, that’s one thing, don’t know what that was and can’t never figger out whut that was . . . .
D: Picked your bed up?
B: Yessir, it started tiltin’ me out. I just picked up an just . . .well I just laid down, been in the bed over two minutes . . .it just quit up there, jus’, the bed jus’ started up tiltin’; Well whenever she started up tiltin’, I got out, I mean I got out in a hurry that time.
D: I figger so. It wadn’t none of them was it?
B: Gosh, they was all in the bed. . . all in the bed asleep. I jumped plumb, well right, now their bed set like this, now you know how scared a feller’d be. Well my bed jes’ set like this, and their bed set over there. Jes’ right there, and I think I jumped plumb over the top of their bed. I don’ know, I think I did. I don’ know how far I jumped, but I know I’s . . . they said “What in the name of sense are you a’doin’?” I said “By
gosh, I don’ know what, but there was somethin’ there settin’ in the bed with me.”