Afterthoughts

     In Pearsall, Texas a skunk crawled under our house and sprayed his scent.  We held our noses and went about our daily life. Since we had no place to go, we had to stay there and suffer.  After a while, I thought the odor had dissipated. When my two boys and I went to the grocery store, I found out how wrong I was.  After we finished shopping and went to check out, a woman in front of us said, "I smell a skunk."  That's when I realized the odor had not gone away.  From that point on, I always made sure before we went anywhere our clothes were freshly washed and our bodies had been scrubbed until they shined.  Never again did anyone comment about smelling a skunk in our presence.  Perhaps they were just being kind.     Trails What are those strange shadows in front of me? No matter how hard I look I just can't see. If they're what I smell, they need a bath. Maybe I just need to walk a different path. I'm afraid if I don't, I'll begin to smell too. A

JT Westbrook     Being covered in dirt from head to toe is one of the hazards of being a bulldozer operator. Not only that, at times, the pay only covered necessities. My husband worked hard for our family. and it was appreciated.       In order not to strain our budget, I did my best to fulfill our children's sweet tooth. I would dip rose petals in peanut butter mixed with honey instead of buying candy.  Sugar, water, and vanilla slowly cooked to a caramel state then added to whipped egg whites became their favorite treat.  They called it calf slobber. If I made a cake and we didn't have any milk, I used a can of pumpkin for the liquid. Once a cake recipe called for sour cream.  Instead of going to the store, I found a package of powdered sour cream in the cabinet and used that. When I poured it in the batter, I realized it had garlic in it.  For fun I added food coloring to the icing.  The cake turned out purple with a garlic taste.  The children loved it.      Looking back,