“All right kids let’s load up this old Model T touring car. We’re just about ready to roll. It’s such a lovely summer day. We won’t need the mica windows to keep out the rain,” Daddy said.

“Last one in’s a doodle bug.”

“Mama’s the bug.”

“How far is it Daddy?”

“About 25 miles. We ought to be there in about an hour.”

“The breeze sure feels nice in my hair.”

“I hear a train whistle.”

“Yeah, and there’s a railroad crossing just ahead. We’ll have to stop and wait.”

“It had 24 cars. All loaded with coal.”

“Now we can go again. Are we just about there yet?”

“No, we’re not just about there yet. We’re just about half way there yet. Looks like road work ahead. Detour road closed.”

“Wow, look at that skinny dirt road.”

“Looks kind of steep. Well, we’ll try to make it. Oops, we’re stalled. We’ll have to ease back and try again. Everybody out and walk to the top. It’s only 30 yards or so.”

“He made it farther but he stalled again. Come on you guys let’s give him a push,” a road worker said.

“Thanks men for the push. It could have been worse. It could have been raining. Let’s be on our way. Get in.”

“That was exciting. I thought we’d have to turn around and go back home.”

“We’re in Scott County now. It won’t be too long now.”

“All right, we’ll just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

“Here’s where we turn off for Liesh Hill’s farm. He married Lettie, my sister Becky’s daughter. The house is just around the bend.”

“Well it’s Uncle Ike, and he’s brought his family with him. Howdy Uncle Ike,” Lettie said as she came out of the house, “I heard you coming and came outside to see who it was, and I was pleasantly surprised.”

“Hello Lettie, how have you been?” Dad said as he got out of the car and gave her a big hug.

“Howdy Aunt Ivo and Children. Come in. Mother’s inside.”

“Hello Isaac and Ivo, and Children,” Aunt Becky said among more hugs.

“Hello”

“Hello, Aunt Becky.”

“Liesh is out in the field. He’ll be back here for dinner about noon,” Lettie said, “The children are playing out in the back yard. Come on Ralph Donald and Margaret, I’ll introduce you to them.”

“We’re playing hide and seek. Sara’s it,” said Bud, and after a few rounds said to me, “The girls are doing fine, let’s take a walk.”

“Where are we going?”

“Over yonder, not very far, just up the hill past the tobacco patch.”

“It’s pretty out here. The tobacco is in bloom.”

“Yeah, the bloom has to be cut off before they go to seed.”

“Ah, there’s a big patch of green leaves ahead. Pumpkins?”

“No, watermelon.”

“All sizes of melons in there among those big leaves. I can see some blossoms hiding in there.

“Here’s one that looks ripe,” said Bud as he bent down and picked it off the vine.

“It’s not as big as I expected a ripe one to be.”

“This is a medium sized variety. They don’t get much bigger than this,” Bud said as the melon slipped from his grasp and lay broken on the ground.

“Oops, too bad.”

“Maybe not so bad. Let’s see what we can save of it,” said Bud and picked up a piece of the broken melon, red and adorned with little black jewels, and handed it to me.

“Man that’s good. You meant to drop it didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve had watermelon before, but never anything like this. It’s warm from the sunshine and sweet and delicious. People buy a melon after plugging it to see if it’s ripe, chill it, slice it and sprinkle salt on it before they eat it. It’s nothing to compare with this.”

“I’m glad you like it. Have another chunk,” and we sat down and finished the whole thing, leaving behind only the broken shell. Two young boy, completely satisfied, returned to their families.

“Well, did everybody enjoy our tour today?” Dad asked.

“It was a good tour. The exciting part was getting stuck and having to walk part way.”

“Our trip back should be easier. The steep part of the detour is downhill on our way back.”

“The detour problem will be hard to forget,” I said “but I’ll always remember the watermelon patch and its delicious taste.”