Stories About My Friends

My Friend Charlie May

In the mid Sixties I had got my left foot crushed on a drilling rig and was off work for six weeks, so I moved from North Texas to Cuero Texas.

I had nothing much to do and had a walking cast on my left leg so a good buddy of mine name Charlie May asked me if I wanted to go fishing a week or so on the river and camp out. I said sure I do so away we went .

We pitched a camp so folks could come visit when they wanted to and set out our trot lines up and down the river . We slept mostly in the day time or caught bait then at night we ran the lines and rebaited them all. Took off what fish we caught and iced them down every night.

One night Charlie was telling me how many women had been brought to this river bottom and molested or worse and all this was done by some bad men there in town from across the tracks .

Now at night we would go up river and paddle back down so we could be real quiet and then check lines on the way back. It usually took us a couple hours.

One night as we were coming around the bend in the river when we heard a woman screaming. I mean she was letting it out so we speeded up to get there. A big tree lay in the edge of the water about five feet around that had fallen so we tied up to it. All we had was a paddle and Charlie said for me to get the lantern and when he said to then raise the light so he could hit whoever it was in the head with the edge of paddle. I got ready so that when he signaled and I could raise it. The woman was still screaming and Charlie raised the paddle and started laughing. I thought he lost his mind he was laughing and motioning for me to walk up and look. The woman had got quiet and I eased up afraid to look over not knowing what I was going to see .

I looked down expecting to see a dead woman but instead it was a four foot long snake with a half swallowed spring frog. Well the frog got away but Charlie and I were exhausted from laughing and had to sit for a while on that one.

Janie Moser © 02/25/07
As told by Tom C. Lee


My Friend Doug

Several years back I had a club outside of Mathis, Texas and we had rattle snake races every year. Fact is they still do over there . Out in front of my store and night club I had a pit dug about six foot deep with hardware cloth over the top and had live rattlesnakes in the pit for folks to see up close .

There was no danger in anyone getting bit, just a thing I did for past time , so one day I had a new snake and he was in the pit so I told my Brother-in-Law at the time to go with me so we could see how he was doing. He went snake hunting too all the time as I did every year . So it was not hard to get him to go.

We was bent over the pit looking and I was tapping my boot on the side to get them climbing up the wall, and old Doug was watching as I had one of them up about four feet. Doug had on shorts and was absorbed looking and he didn't see an old dog come up behind him. I did , but never said anything. The dog got close to Doug and smelled him by rubbing his nose on back of his leg .

Doug jumped straight up screaming worse than any woman I ever heard. It scared the old dog he ran in a circle and growled at Doug and this scared him worse. I was laughing so hard just like I am now as I recall this. Doug hollered at me and said T.C for God's sake quit the dang laughing and help. I said Doug help you do what ?

Yes I had a good laugh that day and still crack up thinking about it even now.

Janie Moser © 02/25/07
As told by Tom C. Lee


My Best Friend Jim

I have a friend name Jimmy Hargrove and he is someone I dearly love. He is one of the best men there ever was here in Rockport, Texas. He goes out of his way to help alot of people.

I have a lot of fun with Jim as I pick on him and he laughs at me all the time. A couple of times I was rushed to the hospital and he was called and left his job and family and came stayed with me until I woke up and saw I would be ok.

Now there is not many friends in this world that would do that he and I have had wonderful years together. We both had shrimp boats for a long time and fished together. We spent a long time on the water together, so we know each other well .

About eleven years ago he came to see me as he was on a rig at the time in Louisiana and had been gone a couple months. During that time my girlfriend was still alive and had brought me a rattlesnake made out of some kind of rock. It was painted up just like one and looked very real It was a door prop and it was coiled up like it was fixing to strike.

I was setting on the front porch talking to Jim and Jana my lady friend was coming outside where we were as she loved Jimmy also. He was leaving and I was so proud of that snake rock so I pointed at it and said Jim look what Jana bought me. He looked down and saw that snake as it looked so real. His feet froze in place and he was wiggling his body but his feet were froze. He got a funny look on his face and I mean he was twisting and got to looking terrible.

Jana thought he was having a heart attack, but I was laughing and tears were flowing down my face and she saw me pointing at the snake and laughing. Then she started and hollered at him and said Jimmy it is a rock you are ok. His feet come loose he jumped two foot in the air and told her this crap is not funny. We were dying laughing so he came and sat down and forgot he was leaving.

I have laughed many years about this and he does now and didn't want me to say anything to anyone but secrets like this I cannot keep.


Janie Moser © 02/25/07
As told by Tom C. Lee


   


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