I love to go to Pat's house and gather eggs.  It takes me back to my childhood.  My Gran had a farm:  Chickens, cow, shed, and yes, an outhouse.  She lived in Wilburton--down in southeast Oklahoma. Once a month, if mom and dad could rake up the gasoline money and beg, borrow or steal gas coupons, we would make the trip to Gran and Pop's house.  And I would get to go out to the chicken coop and gather the eggs.

The only problem was the coupons.  Even if we had the money saved for gas, you couldn't buy gas without a coupon.  During World War II, all the gas was going to the war effort and gasoline in the states was rationed.  Along with everything else.  People learned to do without.  They learned to wait for what they needed.  Or borrow.  Or swap.

And even if we had the gas money and gas coupons, there was the problem of tires--which were also rationed.  Tires back then had inner tubes, and nobody went anywhere without a patch kit and a pump.  It wasn't unusual to have to stop three or four times on a one hundred mile trip and patch a tire--then pump it back up and hope it would last a few more miles.  I can still close my eyes and see my dad, stooped over, jacking up the car, and patching a tire that was long overdue for the junk yard.

Taking a trip to Gran's house was a huge adventure.  I could hardly wait to get there.  Pops had a barn with a table saw mounted on saw-horses, and sawdust covered the floor.  He was a cabinet maker.  A talented carpenter.  One of the things he made and sold as fast as he finished them was porch swings.  Everybody had porches back then and every porch had a swing.  Sometimes two.  On hot summer evenings, we would all sit on the porch and swing.  Nobody had ever heard of air-conditioning.

And of course, nobody had TV.  Or any other electronic gadget--just radio.  Pops had one of those round top, mesh front radios.  He would tip forward in a wooden chair and press close to the speaker and listen to the news each evening.  It came on once a day and everyone had to be quiet while it was on.  You didn't want to miss it.  The men would gather at Pop's grocery store the next day and discuss the news.  Every day after chores were done.

Gathering eggs at Pat's house floods my mind with memories.