[SEL] Fw: Ropes At Shows

[Charles R Bryant]

Subject: Ropes At Shows


At our local show in Missouri we always rope off the engine display area. However this did
not keep kids and spectators out. About 10 years ago I was displaying my Humphrey
Bone Cutter I had just finished restoring. It was no easy task of finding bones and getting
them dried out for cutting. One of the other club members son John kept coming underneath
the ropes cutting up my bones. I told him I had just a few  left which  I wanted to use for demonstration
and please not to cut up anymore.. I went away for awhile and when I came back there was 
John cranking away.. I asked him again politely not to. Well this happened again
and I threatened to give him a walloping if he didn't stop. Well he didn't stop. I was so mad I 
turned him over on my knee and laid on a few good ones. He went howling down the aisle
to where his folks were set up.  A few minutes later I looked up and there was his Mother coming.
coming down the aisle.
I said o'boy  I'm going to catch it now. She come over to my spot and said the hamburgers, hot
dogs and brats are ready you had better come get some before John eats them all. After the
way I saw John putting down them hot dogs and brats I said boy he is going to grow up to
be a strapping young man. Then I remembered an experience my father always told me about
and I thought maybe I shouldn't of spanked him after all. The story my father told ,we lived on a farm
in the 20's and 30's),and my father had a team of horses. One day he was getting them
harnessed up and Max, the neighbors 8 or 10 year old boy came up. He kept jumping around
scarring the horses while my father was trying harness them and my father asked him  repeatedly
to stop or he would wallop him. Well Max didn't stop and my father ,a medium size man, turned him
over on his knee and gave him several good ones. Max with tears in his eyes said "when I grow up
I am going to give you a spanking". One day about 10 years later in drives Max in his Model A . He had grown to a strapping young lad of over 200 pounds. Saying nothing he got out of his car and grabbed my
father, turned him over on his knee and laid on some good ones. When he was done my Father
asked him what he did that for. Max said you remember that time when I was a boy you spanked
me for jumping the horses when you was trying to harness them and I told you when I grew up
I was going to give you a spanking. Well I've grown up and this is the spanking I said I was
going to give you. Well John grew up to but we always remained the best of friends and  I never 
did get a spanking from him. Two things, one ropes are not going to keep all the spectators out
and two if you ever spank a kid just remember that kid some day may grow up bigger
 than you..

Just a foot note. Max was killed in World War 2 on "D"  Day during the invasion.