Mammoth Springs
May 12, 1994

 

 

              It was a beautiful day, maybe a little hot. We all tried to fit into our car but six was a little too tight, so Clydella and Elwese took Elwese's car. Clydella drove. Robbie, Mom, Herschel and I followed them.

             There were many friendly fields, cleared except for an occasional oasis in the rounded hills, breathtaking in their beauty. Like green mounds of velvet with trees being perky and a bit arrogant in their presentation.

             I had never seen the springs, touted to be the biggest in the world, they no doubt are. More than nine millions gallons of water per hour pouring out of the earth is mind boggling. There were lots of ducks, mallards as well as the more common swanlike ducks. Or maybe they were swans. They certainly were not the little squatty kind of ducks but like Henry, our Easter duckling that grew up and thought he was a dog.

             We stopped on the way and picked up some Kentucky Fried Chicken for a picnic. I was not very hungry but had bragged that, if I was awake and hadn't just eaten, I could eat. We watched a squirrel.. even fed him some crumbs. He came pretty close until a dog came up. Clydella fell for the dog. He was friendly but scrubby and unkept. Everyone but me made over him anyhow.

             After we ate, the girls took off for a walk around the spring. Herschel disappeared to the bathroom. I became concerned and pretended I had to go, so's I could check on him... he was all right. I went to the car and locked it since I had forgotten to do so when we unloaded. I then began my tour of the spring.

             Just as I reached the walk I noticed that the girls were coming back. Robbie returned to join Mom and Herschel back at the pavilion, my sisters accompanied me acting as guides. The dog who Clydella said had been protecting them went with Robbie. Kinda hurt Clydella's feeling since she was nice to the dog and Robbie wasn't. My sisters remarked as how he was a male and men always like the women who treated them mean. I said I really liked Robbie, Elwese was sure that RD really though a lot of her. Clydella thought she may be too nice for her own good.

             Clydella took pictures. We looked at the spring in amazement and talked of just thing around us. After we crossed the bridge Mom joined us. The thought of us as a family with Daddy missing passed through my mind. It was a warm feeling with a slightly sad after taste, almost like it might have been a memory but wasn't. It was easy to shake off and allow my senses to be absorbed by the situation. Elwese saw a snake. We watched it swim downstream and try to ride a clump of moss. It was poison.

             We passed by a baby. Why do people make over babies and ignore adults? Even the parents. More ducks, interesting plants. On the Dam, more pictures, and a tour of the old electric generating plant intriguing sights. Elwese picked some vines to plant at home.

             It occurred to me that this is as far away from everyone else that we have been together in a long time. Years ago we were an immediate family, a stand alone entity where others that are close to us now would have been outsiders. The half happy, half sad feeling passed as I spotted a beaver's face sticking out of the water in the lake. He ducked under before anyone else could see him. I don't think they believed I saw him. But I didn't make it up.

             We played on the train, more pictures, Clydella wanted me to climb a big tree, alternatively we made pictures under it.

             Herschel and I drove back to Cave City alone, all the women wanted to go to Hardy and shop. They came in about three hours later with clothes for Robbie and Old folks pills for me. Later that evening I got to hear several versions of how Mom described me as a short, fat, squatty, middle aged, balding person to some guy they bought stuff from. Elwese and Robbie had great fun telling me about it.

             It was a good day and a fitting end to our visit.

Copyright © 1994 Charles Prier

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