Taxi

My dad was always buying and trading things.  His tire shop brought lots of different people together.  Some of them just wanted their tires repaired or replaced, but some knew there was an opportunity to do some trading.

While I didn't always know the details of the trades, I usually saw the results of the deals.  One such trade was for a 1938 Chevrolet sedan.  It was a nice looking car with no noticeable dents or scratches.
It surprised me when Dad's first use of the Chevy was to haul a calf in it.  To fit the yearling in it, he removed the back seat and had my brother, Arnie, and I to hold it for the trip home.

Since Dad had a car to drive to work, he would leave the Chevy parked at home.  During this time we lived about 8 miles from town at the end of a rutted dirt road.  There was only one neighbor past our house and one neighbor between the main road and our house. Unless Charlie Harper had to leave home, there was no traffic passing the house.

One day while I was thinking about something to do to break the boredom, an idea came to me: "Wouldn't it be fun to play taxi cab.  There was a perfectly good sedan sitting in the yard collecting dust." Looking around the house it didn't take long to find the Chevy keys.

The Chevy started easily and I drove my first "fare" up the road about a half mile.  I left Bub there and turned around to go back and pick up my other brother.  It was fun driving around in the taxi.  After picking Arnie up, I headed back to the stop where I had turned around.  At some point during this trip, I began to smell smoke.  Looking around as I drove, I could see smoke under the dash. By the time I got to the turn around, the car was filled with smoke.

Since we didn't have a phone, I decided to go to Charlie's house and ask what I should do.  While running down the road I was hoping the car wouldn't completely burn before I returned.  Charlie was about sixty years old.  He was raised on the farm, so he was good at using his experience and common sense to deal with problems.  His suggestion was to throw sand on the wires.  The smoke seemed to be coming from the rubber insulation on the wiring.  We did as he suggested and it stopped smoking. I don't know whether the fire stopped because I turned the switch off or because of the sand we threw in the engine compartment and under the dash.  I just knew the fire was out and I was glad there was a car left.

We were spared extra punishment.  I believe my dad could tell how much the incident had scared us and decided that was enough trauma.

The Glass Incident

There are times when brothers feel the need to wrestle and push each other around just for the fun of it.  It could be caused from boredom or excess energy.  Whatever the reason for it, my brothers and I were wrestling and scuffling in the house one day when we got a little too carried away and the youngest brother, Bub, hit the glass in the front door with such a force that the glass broke out and scattered in numerous pieces.

Immediately, all activity ceased.  The harsh reality of our situation came over us like a blast of cold air.  Mother was at work and we were alone during summer vacation.  We realized that we only had a limited time to deal with this problem or face the certain anger of a parent who would come home and realize there was no longer a glass in the front door.

We decided to call a glass company to see if they would fix the door for us.  The spokesman at the glass company said the repair would be about twenty dollars.  I told him to come on out.  After getting off the phone, I discussed the amount of money we needed.  We searched our banks and pockets for the money.  After a considerable amount of searching, we decided we had enough.

The glass repairman came out in a couple of hours to make the repair.  It seemed like it only took him about thirty minutes to replace the glass.  I was hoping it would take longer because I was dreading the next part.  After the repairman handed us the bill, we brought out a large fishing tackle box.  We told the service man it would take a little while to pay him.  It took longer to count out twenty dollars in pennies, nickels, and dimes than it took to do the repair.

After the glass was replaced, my and brothers and I cleaned up the broken glass.  It was then that we noticed how clean the new glass was.  It was decided that we should put some fingerprints and a little dirt on the glass to "age" it.  The results were a complete success.  It was several years later before we finally told mother about the glass incident.

Corn Whiskey

It's hard to explain where some ideas originate.  Maybe TV shows or books or conversations inspire us to try things we haven't done.  It occurred to me that I might could make some corn whiskey.  We had plenty of corn in the barn.  There was sugar in the house and a gallon jug in the storage house.

After I assembled the ingredients, I filled the jug with water.  Next I shucked several ears of corn and removed the kernels. The kernels were placed in the jug with water and some sugar.  A dish towel was used to cover the jug and it was placed in the the ceiling of the store house near the ceiling access opening.  This would hide it from view but make it easily accessible.

After about three weeks the brew was giving off a distinctive fermentation smell.  Now I would have to be creative and decide how to cook off the alcohol and get the end product. All the pictures I had seen showed a container with a hose or line connecting to the top of it and running to an empty container.  It appeared that a burner was lit under the fermented corn to cook the final product and cause it to travel to the second container.

The only cooking appliance at our house was in our kitchen.  To undertake whiskey making in the house would mean my mother would have to be gone.  I watched for an opportunity to have the kitchen to myself.

Finally, I was at home one Saturday when mom decided to go to the grocery store.  As soon as the family Chevy disappeared  around the corner, I began assembling my still in the kitchen.  Before long it was ready.  I lit the burner and waited for the law of physics to work.  Things happened much quicker than I thought they would.  I heard a muffled explosion at the stove.  When I checked it, I realized a law of physics I hadn't thought of had come into operation.  A glass jug of the ordinary variety would not hold its shape with a gas burner lit under it.  Simply put, the jug had exploded and its contents were splattered on the stove and on the kitchen floor.

I'm sure my mom smelled something when she got back, but I must have come up with some plausible story, because I don't remember a switching.  I wasn't successful in making the whiskey, but  my knowledge was increased and I didn't kill myself.  That was a success to me.

The New Radio Station, pt. 4

My youngest brother, Bub, was outgoing and up for new adventures.  He was the obvious choice for the door to door contacts.  Since we had stacks of magazines from my sister, why not try  Bub's sales technique as a bonus?

We decided to announce the radio station and mention the deal on used magazines.  After loading my brother's bicycle with magazines, it was time for me to sign on the air at KBOP.  I thought that was a catchy call sign.  It seemed like I played every record I had before Bub came home.

It was clear that the station was reaching our neighbors and they were amazed to hear "Sonny" on their radio, but the magazine sales were not very good.  A few magazines were sold, but not enough to establish a regular route.  After the excitement of the whole experience, our interest in the broadcast and magazine sales business diminished.  It was the newness of the adventure and its possibilities that were the most fun.

I would continue to broadcast from time to time, but mainly to test a new mic or antenna for its quality.  The family was tired of testing and they had heard all the records. It was fun to try something that I had dreamed about.  It was also an introduction to reality. Not everyone was as excited about the idea as I was.

It was time to move on to something new.  I wondered what it would take to make a whiskey still.
Just think of the possibility of making whiskey with only corn, sugar, and water.