12.30.2010

38


     "Last night I felt a tap on my shoulder, but you weren't there.  Then I felt a little tug on my hand.  It was a beautiful evening."  Cade Willis , a seer, always seemed to have his daughter by his side.

12.27.2010

37


     This was Reds place, the front facade at least, the rest fell in years ago.  The sheer force of Red's spirit keeps it standing.  Some time ago, someone asked Red how he got the name and he just laughed.  Then they asked what his real name was. "That is my real name! The other one was who someone else wanted me to be."  
     His pals Kingfish and Watermelon Slim looked on.  Dingo, who got his name from a boot, was there too.  Razorblade, 'cause he dressed so sharp, Toots, Son and of course Rat, stood off to the side not saying a word.  Nobody dared ask what their real names were.

12.24.2010

36


     An early attempt by the Barksdale Chamber of Commerce to keep their town,"pure."

12.23.2010

35


      "Water rushing through them trees sounds like whispers."  Slater says it's just the ghosts of convicts talking.  "Mississippi River is one big graveyard, those trees are like markers to me.  Bodies got carried down river, but there ain't no amount of water on earth gonna wash their souls away."

12.21.2010

34


      "You don't need a crossroads to find the devil around here.  You stare down these endless roads long enough and soon you'll come face to face." -- Colton Larue.

12.16.2010

33


     At the end of this road lived Halcyone Le Faye.  The house burned down shortly after he died but it's still considered hallowed ground by the folks who live around here.  
    Halcyone had the ability to pass judgement on any poor soul.  Not second hand, like a priest casting judgement upon a sinner or from a book written by the hand of man.  But divine judgement, not handed down from above.
     Most have never seen the spot where Halcyone lived, although it has become  a pilgrimage.  They say they only get as far as this tree and can't go any farther.  They say the power still lies in the ground and I guess it's a fear of seeing the future that keeps folks from going on.
     They also say the tree never changes, it's always been the same size.  But I'm not sure, it could have been that when they were small, the tree was small too and they have just grown with the tree.    

12.15.2010

32


     Emmett de la Hou was a man child.  He started out as a normal kid, or about as normal as any kid could be.  Emmett and his little sister Lila, called baby doll because she always carried her doll with her, were inseparable.  Lila would follow Emmett around like a puppy.  Emmett didn't mind, he liked the company.
     One hot Tuesday, Emmett and Lila got into a little fight, over probably nothing and Emmett went outside to help his mother hang the days wash.
     Smoke began to bellow from the windows and in a flash, before the two could even think, the little house burst into flames.  Emmett tried to run inside for Lila, but his mother held him tight and they watched in silence as the house burned to the ground.
     From that day forward eleven year old Emmett never grew up.  Years later people would spot Emmett wandering, carrying the burnt head of his sisters doll and mumbling," it's too darn hot Lila, don't get so close."     

12.06.2010

31


     Norben Peck thought he was protected by an angel, or something he wasn't quite sure of, "but I knew it was good."  He lived in this small house, only two rooms, but it provided a solid roof over his head.
     The first time he noticed this protective force, Norben, always at odds with the law, was cooking his usual dinner of greens and rice.  A knock of considerable force shuddered his tiny home.  The sheriff had come to pay a visit and ask his whereabouts the other night, which happened to coincide with a robbery of the local pharmacy.  Norben thought, "this is it, I'm goin' down."  As the sheriff walked in, Norben felt a big hand on his shoulder.  "It lifted me right out of my chair, took me through the roof and I got to watch the sheriff and his deputies scratch their heads and wonder where I had got to."  Norben was truly amazed.  When they left, he was back in his chair looking at the table and touching the stolen goods.
     The second time occurred during a terrible hurricane which blew through the sea islands.  The wind was so fierce, it tore at the roots of trees and swept them away.  "I could tell the house was movin', but it was peaceful inside, peaceful as Christmas Eve.  And I could feel the hand there on my house keepin' me safe and I knew it was good."

12.04.2010

30


     Rayford Byrd, a Baptist, got bored with the usual Sunday meetings and the Tuesday and Thursday gatherings as well.  So after he heard about these Pentecostals tucked away in the hollers of Kentucky using snakes and strychnine to call out the devil he thought, "my my, that sounds like a real good way to liven things up a bit."  Birdie, a nickname his grandma gave Rayford because he had a squeaky voice as a kid, didn't have much use for the snakes since they were already a featured player in his dreams, but the strychnine, "now how can that be so much different then the local whiskey?"  All the men thought what a fine idea, but all the women figured it would make these gatherings not all that much different from life at home.
     So a standoff occurred between the men and women, with the preacher in the middle trying to calm things, because he could see the benefits of both arguments.  During a particularly heated exchange, Birdie took a huge gulp of the strychnine and proceeded to spray the vile liquid at a candle burning innocently on the alter.  The place ignited with 42 panicked individuals.  It wasn't a big fire, but large enough to put a bad taste in the minds of the congregation.
    They soon abandoned the building, which they felt was now occupied by its new tenant, the devil himself.