A little "gee" and a little "ha"

It's a lost art now days, but not so long ago folks in these parts plowed their gardens and mowed off their fields with some real horsepower, or mule power in most cases. In the Spring of the year I would fully expect to be walking behind my papaw as he was "geeing" and "hawing" his way around the huge acre garden that we had.

I remember one long ear mule named "Ruth," that would pull the plow and rail-sled all over the farm. One sad summer, old Ruth passed on and papaw bartered up for a huge Clydesdale horse. Fittingly, he named it "Clyde."



Clyde never complained and never seemed to break a sweat. It was almost comical to see my 98 pound papaw holding back on the reigns and yelling out commands loud enough to echo off of the surrounding stand of Oak trees. "Gee, haw, geediyap, whoaaa, git-round-yaar," I would often imitate his commands and pretend that I was leading the big Clydesdale.



One wonderful and terrible day, papaw gave in to my pleading and allowed me to drive the rail-sled down the hill to the barn. "Don't go in that pond," was the last thing I remember him saying as I led Clyde straight into the pond, pulling me and papaw along behind him on the sled. That was the last time I got to drive Clyde, but that was OK, I was content to sit back and enjoy the ride!