Way back in Fires Creek lived a mountain man. He was raised on moon pies and RC Colas. Didn't hurt him a bit. Garnet Johnson was healthy as a contemporary weight lifter. But Garnet worked out raising gigantic vegetable gardens.
Early each spring he plowed his fields with a mule. Garnet had no desire to own a tractor. He joked that he had a four-feet drive. "While everybody else is pumping air in their tractor tires, I'm plowing with my little mule. I reckon I'm way ahead by having a mule."
He named the mule Kit because everything's there. If you can't put the mule to a sled and work her, or snake wood, or whatever there's to do with her, why we'd have to name her something else. She'll work to anything.
Garnet admitted that Kit was more of a pet than a work animal. "She's the best mule I ever saw about kicking or anything else. She's not a bit of trouble. Never has offered to kick nobody."
It appears Kit was sort of a celebrity. Charles Kuralt featured Garnet and his mule on the national CBS show, "Sunday Morning." Garnet thought it was just a rink-dink station and didn't fix up. He just wore an old straw hat and demonstrated Kit plowing the field. Over night the mountain man and Kit, the mule, became famous.
But it shore didn't go to their heads. They just kept on being themselves plain as old shoes.
by: Brenda Kay Ledford
This story appeared in: Mountain Places,
an anthology by Old Mountain Press
www.OldMountainPress.com
8 comments:
Love this so much Brenda. He reminds me of my dad. He always plowed the fields with a mule and he told how one of the neighbor men got a tractor and didn't know much about it at all, couldn't hardly crank it. Daddy said he could out do him any day with that old mule. Garnet had the right idea all along. Thanks for sharing.
I love this story. Reminds me of my great-grandpa! He raised mules and was a hard worker and a wonderful man.
I enjoyed reading this story, Brenda. Kit sounds like a valuable pet to have around. Nice to know being famous didn't go to Garnet's head. :)
That's a cute story. A good-natured mule is uncommon I'm told but since I don't know anything about them I can't say. Obviously Garnet Johnson found a good one.
Oh, this is the kind of stories, and people, I love. I really want a mule. I've wanted a donkey ever since we built here on our little five acres, but having a mule would be even better. I love the mule that Festus rode in the TV series "Gunsmoke". I love your stories from the mountains.
Fascinating story.
Fun story, Brenda. It bought to my mind the mules my daddy had. He traded his horses for the mules. After a day's work, he turned them loose in their pasture and they ran and were so glad to be free of the harnesses. Their pasture had an electric fence around it, and my cousin and I took turns touching the wire just to get a shock. Fun, but stupid. lol
Great story, Brenda. My father had a mule and a horse when I was very small. I'm told the mule was the best at plowing and he kept the high spirited horse from getting out of control. I loved Charles Kuralt's stories. Wish I could see that story on TV.
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