Growing up with the Scarbrough Girls

By John P. Scarbrough

Did you ever wish you knew more about the lives of your ancestors? What kind of lives did the have? Not only is this book entertaining, but future generations of the Scarbrough family will learn much about the upbringing of this past generation. Once you have read this book, you will ask yourself "Why didn't I think of that". Or if you are just starting a family, you will get ideas on how to preserve precious moments for your children and future generations.

Again, you will find the true stories quite entertaining, and you will have a guide for preserving part of your life for future generations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 18, 2008
• ISBN: 9781462840151

Book preview

Chapter 1

Delores the Cat

I think it was the summer of 1981 when we first saw Delores. Delores was a large, graceful black cat, but also quite wild.

Linda, my wife, and I lived at the end of Winterberry Cove in Germantown, Tennessee. Our cove was in a wooded area with the end of the cove bordering a dense forest. About half a mile into the woods there was the very rugged Wolf River, possibly named wolf because of the wolves and other wild animals which once, or perhaps still do, make their homes in the area.

We were one of the first to move into Winterberry Cove in the winter of ’77-’78 shortly after the area was developed. Because of the heavy machinery used in clearing the area, we did not see any wild animals other than birds. Linda and I often wondered why we did not see any squirrels. That was soon to change.

The first year we worked hard on the place to make it look like a city home. It soon did. However, the influence of the wooded area began to show. We found three or more snakes that summer and squirrels began to roam in the yard. A year or so later a neighbor saw a fox standing outside our kitchen window eating some scrap food. The fox became a regular visitor as we would see it in the wooded area next to our house on many occasions. Later, opossums began to get in our garbage cans, and once I saw a raccoon right outside our back door. Many times when we would go outside at night, we would hear animals running through the trees. Rabbits roamed freely in the area.

One summer we saw a large dog make its home in the area. It was very afraid of us and would not let anyone near it. I think the dog pound finally caught it. I think it was the next year when we began to see a large, graceful cat with thick fur hanging around the woods and eating our scraps.

Soon both Linda and I tried to talk to the cat and get near it. The cat seemed very wild, indeed, and that led us to believe it belonged to no one.

The fall of 1981 was very mild, and we would see the cat regularly. It seemed to make its home near ours. One day the weather got worse. I jokingly asked Linda, I wonder where Delores the cat is today? From that time on, Delores was its name. Delores is an unusual name for a cat; but Delores was an unusual cat.

We tried to talk to Delores often to make her feel at home. Once or twice we were able to get within four or five feet of her with food. Suddenly, around the middle of December, winter set in. The nights got deathly chilly. We worried about Delores’ safety.

Delores began to establish her spot against our outside fence to block the wind and absorb the sunshine. During a cold spell when nighttime temperatures fell to 12 degrees and daytime temperatures rose to 25 degrees, I decided to help Delores get warm. Linda and I found a large pasteboard box and placed an old towel in it. Placing the box in Delores’ favorite spot near the fence seemed to be a good idea.

As I took the box out, Delores snuggled in her favorite spot. When I approached, Delores ran. With the box in her favorite spot, Delores walked over and checked it out. The temperature was a chilling 20 degrees. Delores left the area and went into the woods. We wondered how we could keep Delores from freezing to death.

The next day we did not see the mysterious cat until late in the afternoon. Then, there she snuggled against the outside of the box near her favorite spot.

It was December 19th and Christmas was in the air. Wanting to help Delores, I found a large brick, brought it in, and heated it on the fireplace. As I took the brick outside Delores carefully watched me and only moved away from her spot when I came close. I placed the warm brick against the box where Delores had been. As I moved away Delores moved in, but only to check out what I had done. She touched the brick with her nose, but quickly pulled it from the heat. She stood near the brick for a few moments stretching her neck first one way and then the other, feeling the heat and puzzled by the brick. Then Delores moved away and went into the woods.

That night our friends David and Linda came over for a pre-Christmas visit. They saw the box and asked what it was for. Linda and David were the same friends who first saw the fox a year or two earlier. Later that night David exclaimed, The cat is in the box! Sure enough, Delores was snuggled warmly inside the box for the night.

Chapter 2

The Adventures of Erin

By: John and Carol Scarbrough

When Carol was about three years old she had a hard-headed doll with no hair. One day she got into trouble when she hit her sister, Shelley, in the back of the head with the head of her doll, Erin. At this point, Linda, that’s mommy, decided her punishment would be no more Erin. At first Carol took it pretty hard. Then she seemed to accept it, but refused to forget Erin. She began to make up short incidents that involved Erin.

That is the reason I have named this The Adventures of Erin and have given Carol credit for writing. The following are some of those stories:

One day Erin was walking down the sidewalk when she heard a lion in the bushes. Erin ran into our tent where she was safe with me (Carol).

One day Erin was walking down the street when she got run over by a car. She was mashed flat. We took her to the hospital where she got alright.

One day Erin was walking and she came to a road. She looked both ways. She got across the street and she didn’t get run over.

One day Erin was walking through the woods when she heard something—but she really didn’t hear something. Our neighbor’s house burned down and they moved.

One day Erin was walking down the road and went over a bridge. Both sides of the bridge were breaked (broken) and she fell in. I got a rope and pulled her out.

Erin and I were walking thru the forest . . . . and she ate all of her dinner, so she got to go to the carnival. Do you know which ride she liked best? The Lady Bug!

Erin and I were walking thru the forest when we saw a big, big, big, bad monster. We ran to our tent and closed all of the gates. But the monster picked up our tent. We gathered up all of our stuff and got in the car and drove home.

Erin and Amy were walking in the forest when they bumped into a giant, huge tiger, so we went to our tent (it was yellow). We fell asleep but we still heard the tiger.

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Chapter 3

The Fabulous Couch Flip

I had been in Chicago for two days in a meeting. Maw and Paw were down from Memphis when I got home. Their presence always seemed to add a little energy to the kids. But this time, a little more-so.

As I walked into the house just before suppertime, Shelley said, Daddy, watch this. I watched as she got a running start directly toward the couch and flipped up with her legs lapping over the back.

Carol, not wanting to be outdone, straddle-leg somersaults on the floor. I thought I was in a carnival. That night they continued practicing until bedtime. Even Carol was attempting the flips onto the couch and chairs. Normally you don’t like to see that abuse of the furniture; but they didn’t seem to mind.

The next day at lunch the two older girls made a tent in the den by covering a card table with a blanket and extending it by placing pillows on the outstretched edges. They couldn’t have been happier to see me climb under the tent as if to join in the fun. They were overjoyed with their success and called the rest in for a look. Well folks, as I left to head back to work I saw Paw crawling under the tent.

Chapter 4

The Hungry Wolves

Fall was in the air that day when Linda and I, along with our two little daughters, Shelley and Carol, were cutting fire wood in the edge of the forest behind Grandmother and Grandaddy Scarbrough’s house in Mathiston, Mississippi. With the chain saw and ax, we were making a great deal of noise.

As I turned off the saw engine, we heard a most unusual sound. It was a little like the sound of a hunting dog chasing a rabbit . . . . but not exactly like that. We continued, and the sound got louder and closer. Suddenly, out of the densest past of the forest ran a raccoon followed closely by a vicious wolf with the fangs flashing. Upon sighting us, the wolf stopped in its tracks as if to say, Raccoons are good but what have we here?

Out of instinct I grabbed the ax, pulled Linda and the girls close and backed to the car. We explained to the kids how fierce and wild wolves were. By this time there were