vegetables. We’ll top the meal off with some homemade ice cream.”
“Wow! This is going to be fun. I may want to spend the summer down there.”
“Willow, you know you’re always welcome. We enjoy our time there and look forward to having guests.”
“What about the ferry at Port Gibson? Is it still in operation? I remember years ago, we enjoyed crossing the river on it.”
“Yes, it is. The old ferry we crossed on has been replaced with a larger, safer vessel.”
“That’s good. I want to take Daddy by the McKenzie Maintenance Yard and I know he will enjoy riding the ferry.”
“That will bring back memories for you and Rupert.”
“Yes, I’m sure it will. With the river as high as it is, I just hope we don’t have a problem crossing.”
“Willow, I don’t believe you need to be concerned. The new ferry is much more sea worthy than the little one we crossed on years ago. Don’t worry.”
“Thanks. I’ll try to get us up and going early Saturday. Isn’t there something else I can bring other than coleslaw, potato salad, and a pineapple upside down cake?”
“No. I’ll take care of everything else. We’ll have a five course breakfast with bacon, eggs, grits, toast, biscuits, waffles and cereal.”
”You know, I’m trying to keep my weight down. If I stay around you very much, I’ll swell up like blimp.”
“You know you can walk, jog, swim, play golf or do whatever you need to do to justify eating often and well. You know how we Southerners are. We love to work hard, play hard, and we love lots of our rich food also.”
“I want to regain my Southern accent but not the Southern way of eating.”
“Good luck with that. But I’m still going to tempt you with my cooking. See you Saturday morning.”
“Woody, I’m really looking forward to the weekend at Woods’ Station.”
“We’re excited that you and especially Uncle Rupert are coming. The three of us, together, will be like old times.”
* * *
Woody, Olga and Anne, as planned, arrived at Woods’ Station mid-afternoon Friday. After fueling the party barge and checking the trolling poles, the three of them sat on the end of the pier, enjoying the fading sunlight and the beautiful red sunset.
Anne looked across the lake, as the sun’s rays danced off the ripples in the water. “Daddy, I really love it here. Why don’t we live here full time?”
“Anne, wouldn’t you miss seeing your school friends?” Woody asked.
“Yes, but they could come visit.”
“Not during the week. And would you want to go to school in Newellton?”
“Oh, no. I wouldn’t change schools. I would ride back and forth with you.”
“So you want me to commute to my office every day?”
“That’s the general plan.”
“As I understand this, you and Daddy are going to leave me by myself five days a week?”
“No” Anne said. “We’ll keep our house in Vicksburg and you could commute with us.”
“I think we would all get very tired of that drive after a while,” Olga said. “We’ll plan on spending as much time as possible over here. Before it gets much darker, let’s go inside.”
Chapter 8
The next morning Anne was the first one awake and made no effort to be quiet.
“Anne, what are you doing?” Woody called out.
“Daddy, I’m trying to wake you. Sounds like I’ve succeeded.”
Olga asked Anne to put the coffee pot on. “I’ll be down in a second. Woody, you stay in bed. Anne and I will start breakfast and call you when it’s time for you to come downstairs.”
“This is great,” said Woody.
The aroma of the freshly brewed coffee soon hit Woody’s nose and he couldn’t stay in bed any longer.
* * *
After breakfast, Olga asked Annie if she would take her daddy outside to the hammock so that she could clean up the kitchen. Grabbing Woody by the hand, Anne said: “C’mon Daddy—you heard what Mama said. Let’s get to it. We need to mow the grass and clean up the
“Wow! This is going to be fun. I may want to spend the summer down there.”
“Willow, you know you’re always welcome. We enjoy our time there and look forward to having guests.”
“What about the ferry at Port Gibson? Is it still in operation? I remember years ago, we enjoyed crossing the river on it.”
“Yes, it is. The old ferry we crossed on has been replaced with a larger, safer vessel.”
“That’s good. I want to take Daddy by the McKenzie Maintenance Yard and I know he will enjoy riding the ferry.”
“That will bring back memories for you and Rupert.”
“Yes, I’m sure it will. With the river as high as it is, I just hope we don’t have a problem crossing.”
“Willow, I don’t believe you need to be concerned. The new ferry is much more sea worthy than the little one we crossed on years ago. Don’t worry.”
“Thanks. I’ll try to get us up and going early Saturday. Isn’t there something else I can bring other than coleslaw, potato salad, and a pineapple upside down cake?”
“No. I’ll take care of everything else. We’ll have a five course breakfast with bacon, eggs, grits, toast, biscuits, waffles and cereal.”
”You know, I’m trying to keep my weight down. If I stay around you very much, I’ll swell up like blimp.”
“You know you can walk, jog, swim, play golf or do whatever you need to do to justify eating often and well. You know how we Southerners are. We love to work hard, play hard, and we love lots of our rich food also.”
“I want to regain my Southern accent but not the Southern way of eating.”
“Good luck with that. But I’m still going to tempt you with my cooking. See you Saturday morning.”
“Woody, I’m really looking forward to the weekend at Woods’ Station.”
“We’re excited that you and especially Uncle Rupert are coming. The three of us, together, will be like old times.”
* * *
Woody, Olga and Anne, as planned, arrived at Woods’ Station mid-afternoon Friday. After fueling the party barge and checking the trolling poles, the three of them sat on the end of the pier, enjoying the fading sunlight and the beautiful red sunset.
Anne looked across the lake, as the sun’s rays danced off the ripples in the water. “Daddy, I really love it here. Why don’t we live here full time?”
“Anne, wouldn’t you miss seeing your school friends?” Woody asked.
“Yes, but they could come visit.”
“Not during the week. And would you want to go to school in Newellton?”
“Oh, no. I wouldn’t change schools. I would ride back and forth with you.”
“So you want me to commute to my office every day?”
“That’s the general plan.”
“As I understand this, you and Daddy are going to leave me by myself five days a week?”
“No” Anne said. “We’ll keep our house in Vicksburg and you could commute with us.”
“I think we would all get very tired of that drive after a while,” Olga said. “We’ll plan on spending as much time as possible over here. Before it gets much darker, let’s go inside.”
Chapter 8
The next morning Anne was the first one awake and made no effort to be quiet.
“Anne, what are you doing?” Woody called out.
“Daddy, I’m trying to wake you. Sounds like I’ve succeeded.”
Olga asked Anne to put the coffee pot on. “I’ll be down in a second. Woody, you stay in bed. Anne and I will start breakfast and call you when it’s time for you to come downstairs.”
“This is great,” said Woody.
The aroma of the freshly brewed coffee soon hit Woody’s nose and he couldn’t stay in bed any longer.
* * *
After breakfast, Olga asked Annie if she would take her daddy outside to the hammock so that she could clean up the kitchen. Grabbing Woody by the hand, Anne said: “C’mon Daddy—you heard what Mama said. Let’s get to it. We need to mow the grass and clean up the
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