It's been awhile since we have heard anything from Tom Lee so today we are continuing the short story of his many adventures in life. Let's see what kind of trouble Tom is getting into now. Lands, hope you enjoy this one he told me.
It was after I harvested the potatoes in my Mom's garden that she told Dad that I had been good and that I deserved a horse.
You imagine me being good ? Anyway, our landlord had a nice two year old he wanted to sell for seventy five dollars so Dad bought him for me.
This horse had been raised in a ten acre patch and we were told we could keep him there but I would have to cut the grass or buy hay for him to eat.
Man, I saddled him up and got on him and he could run like the wind. I was using my GrandPa's saddle as the boys had it rebuilt after Papa Lee passed on. Everything was fine, as I had my own horse and he was so beautiful but the only thing when I took him out of the pasture he was raised in it was real hard to keep him from returning.
One Sunday morning we went to church and I was going to ride that evening but when I got home the horse was gone. My Uncle Olan had came over and got him and rode off with him. He tied him near the railroad tracks there in Mission, Texas while he walked to a tavern and drank beer all evening.
The trains came by and scared the horse as he was real nervous.
My Uncle knew I wanted to ride him and he decided he better bring him home which he did. Gosh, I was so angry at him and he told me boy that horse is hard to hold. You better put him in his pasture and let him settle down.
I told him no I was going to ride him and that I could handle him.
My Mom told me no put him away also but they went to the house so I decided to not mind and ride him anyway. I had a mind to go cut a bunch of Johnson Grass to feed him and down the road we went.
A mexican friend of mine was learning to drive and was coming down the road behind us and he honked the horn wanting me to see him driving that old dodge truck with the squealing horn that would scare the life out of you if you did not know it was behind you.
I jumped hollered and the horse jumped and bucked as it set him off.
He was running away with me holding on trying to slow him down but it was no use as he was running like the wind.
He came to the yard behind the house and I saw a dead man line coming from top of a telephone post to the ground and he was headed right for it. I knew it would knock my head off so I wrapped my middle finger around the saddle horn and ducked.
That wire caught in the saddle horn and cut my middle finger on my right hand off.
I jumped down and was standing there watching my horse cut up with my hands behind my back and then I felt something wet hit my leg.
I looked down and saw blood and then at my hand and saw a finger half gone.
I ran to the house and hollered at mom. I knew I was in trouble for sure cause I did not mind her.
Mom and my Uncle loaded me up and to the doctors office we went. They had to call Dr. Smith and
finally he showed up and took me in a room.
He told the folks you got to hold him down because he didn't have any pain reliever and had to clip the bone in my finger.
They did and gosh when he clipped that bone I felt pain and near crapped a wiggling worm it hurt so bad.
He got me all stitched up and called the drug store for a prescription for morphine for me.
It took awhile for it to knock me out but it did.
I was on morphine for several weeks but was getting addicted to it.
My finger was healed but pain was there and I would take a capsule and the pain would leave.
Mom told one of my Aunts to take care of me as her father was real sick and she had to leave.
So after three days my Aunt Mag came and told me I was out of medicine and to go to sleep because they would not let her have any until
Momma could come and get it.
I suffered three days and then the pain went away and I did not need pills anymore
The addiction was gone but I found out later that I had two bottles of them but My Aunt wanted to get me off them and it worked.
Today when I remember Dr. Smith and recall this experience I think of how I would love to get hold of him for the pain he put me through.
