"Oh, hi, Johnnie. I
thought I heard the doorbell ring. Come on in. No, no,
Little Fox, don't jump up on Johnnie."
"I'm sorry, Johnnie,
but Little Fox thinks that anyone that comes in has come to
see her. Let's go out on the back porch. I made us some
lemonade and peanut butter cookies. Would you carry that
tray with the glasses and lemonade and I'll bring this plate
of cookies.
"Just set the tray
down on the table and I'll put the cookies here beside it.
Do you mind pouring us a glass of lemonade? Thanks. Sit
there in the rocking chair next to the table so you can
reach the cookies. I'll sit over here in the porch swing.
"Oh look, there is a
firefly. That's the first one I've seen this evening. There
are a lot of fireflies out here by the lake. Sounds like the
tree frogs are tuning up for their nightly serenade. It
won't be long before the big bullfrog starts his song.
"The moon is full
tonight and it will be beautiful coming up from behind the
Cyprus trees. Johnnie, Caddo Lake is one of the prettiest
places I've ever been. You know Caddo Lake is God's lake.
He made it with an earthquake in 1811. Man didn't make
Caddo. I guess that's the reason it's the prettiest lake in
Texas.
"Your glass is empty.
Pour yourself some more lemonade.???
???No thanks, I don't
want any more right now.??? Crrrump crrrump crrrump crrrump.
"There's that
bullfrog I told you about. He starts singing just before
dark. It won't be long now until the owls start their
nightly conversation.
"Now that the moon is
coming up would you like to go out on the lake for a little
boat ride? Ok, let's walk down to the dock. Here you better
put this windbreaker on. I leave my boat in the water and it
is tied up at my dock.
"Watch your step.
It's a long step down into the boat. Here's a life jacket
for you. We will just cruise out past the cypress trees so
we can watch the moon come up.
"I'll stop the motor
now and we can just sit here and listen to all the night
sounds and look at the moon. Hear the raft of mud hens out
there in the open water? There must be 200 or 300 of them.
All the clucking and squawking and carrying on, they sound
like a bunch of women at a sewing circle meeting. Ha ha. Now
don't take offence.
"Yes, that was a big
splash. Oh I have fished out here at night, but that's a
whole nother story for a different time. That splash was
probably some bass catching his supper. "Once in a while
you can hear some bird over in the cypress trees squawk.
???Yes, some of the
sounds are a little scary.
"Look over there. See
that beaver swimming toward his den? I love it out here at
night. It's so peaceful. You can sit out here and see God's
world and know all is right in the world tonight, at least
here on Caddo Lake.
"Yes, that is a train
whistle. Sound carries a long way at night. The nearest
train tracks are at Waskem 12 miles away.
"You look like you're
getting chilly. It gets cold out here on the water after
dark. We??™d better go in. I'll go slow so it won't be so cold
for you.
"Let me tie the boat
to the dock and then I'll help you up onto the dock."
Whooo whooo whooo
heee heee heee.
"There's my neighbor,
the owl. He saw us come back and he is saying welcome.
"Johnnie, stand still
and be real quite. Look down the bank in that direction. Do
you see that momma coon and her three babies coming along
the edge of the water? They come by every night about this
time looking for their supper.
"Well I know you have
other things to do. So I understand that you have to leave.
But it was very kind of you to take time to come visit an
old geezer like me. Visiting with you youngsters keeps me
young at heart.
"Thank you for coming
and come back any time. You be careful driving home now.
Good night."
"Well, Little Fox, do
you want to go for a boat ride? I think I'll go back out on
the lake and talk to God for a little while."
?© 2003 by Loren Moore
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blessings to you.
Bob Johnston
Minneapolis
Starfish @ Ripplemaker.com
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