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| Jenny |
When my friend Jenny and I worked together at the bank, we often joked about our witch powers.We both had a talent for summoning customers with only a slight mention of the customer’s name. A word in passing, and the customer was in the drive-thru that afternoon.
Me: Have you seen Bob lately?
Jenny: Not in five years…
And there he’d be, standing at the teller counter… This was a gift when attempting to collect bad debts, but eerie to the point we trained ourselves NOT to speak or think of certain people…
I still have this power.
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| Vintage Serving Tray, The Posh Pearl, Fayetteville |
Friday morning I saw a Dogpatch USA serving tray in a Fayetteville vintage shop. Memories flooded me. Growing up in the 1970s, Dogpatch was an exciting Arkansas summer destination. Based on the comic strip Li’l Abner, Dogpatch was home to Daisy Mae, Mammy and Pappy Yokum, Moonbeam McSwine and a slew of other fun-lovin’, cornpone yokels. The theme park included a trout-filled lake—catch your own dinner(!)—paddle boats and a train ride that was held up at gunpoint by a band of moonshine-making robbers.
Dogpatch celebrated hillbilly.
What are the odds? We are both one degree removed from Dogpatch.
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| Daisy Mae, Mammy Yokum and Pappy Yokum (Tim Stone) |
Tim: I’m cheering for Baylor roday.
Me: Yay!
Tim: Musr be working. Rhey are doing grear!
Me: Rhanks!
Tim: Do you remember why there are no “T’s”?
Me: Ummmm, no? Why?
Tim: In high school typing class, I couldn’t get down the letter T. Everything I typed had an R instead of a T. YOU typed me a note explaining that I was going to have a difficult life if I didn’t learn how to type T’s. You typed, and I quote: “You won’t even be able to type your own name, Rimmy Srone!” LOL.
I wonder if my sister-in-law heard from Daisy Mae?
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| photo courtesy of Ozark Underground |
If not for that Dogpatch serving tray, I may not have heard from Rimmy Srone…
And I’m expecting a call from Jenny any minute now, simply a result of typing her name.
Musical Pairing:
Jubilation T. Cornpone, Li’l Abner
Hillbillies are people too. —Bart Simpson
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| photo courtesy of Ozark Underground – Dogpatch water ride….years later. |
Good to know your witch powers are alive and well!!! I think mine faded. 🙁 Although perhaps now that I am also typing monkey, our powers combined could still be immense! I am in Dallas right now… Could there be a monkey sighting???
oops, probably so. say hi to monkey for me:)
Ir’s always a surprise ro see what you come up wirh nexr. Funny srory!
Glad to be a part of “bringing back a memory” of Dogpatch. I enjoyed meeting your Hubby. I hope y’all had a great Thanksgiving.
Tammie
The Posh Pearl
I will probably need to buy that tray!
OMG! I have been researching some things on DOGPATCH and in fact, recently added it to one of my favorite places on Pinterest. I have chill bumps and laughing my head off at the odds of all this!!! So freaking hilarious, really, Ralya! Ralya’s cousin
Since you were in Mountain View and I was in Fayetteville, both near Dogpatch, our cousin telepathy was at work…
As a young teacher and mother, our family visited Dogpatch. Two things, no, three, I remember. I was wearing a Henderson University t-shirt with Choir Camp – 19?? on it. My husband (now ex-) accused me of flaunting myself. We took a paddle boat ride. I’m not sorry it is rotting; not a good “take” for Arkansas in our quest for a higher level of culture. LOL
Are we on a quest for a higher level of culture? ha. I missed that memo…
Is your power transferable, Talya? Because I’d like to hear from my old friends Willis or Dale, whom I have had no luck finding. Maybe just mentioning them, here, will spark something.
I never went to Dogpatch, but I’ve read newspaper comics as long as I can remember. Little Abner was one of the popular ones when I was growing up, so all those characters are familiar. When I was a junior in high school, I sang Jubilation T. Cornpone in a school variety show. I can’t imagine how that happened. They would pay me not to sing in choirs these days!
I went to Dogpatch a couple of times, once as a kid and a couple of other times as an adult when I went to visit my brother, Barry, who worked there during his summer breaks from college. He was one of the hilarious bank robber dudes, as well as a stand-in for Lil’ Abner. Barry was big into weight-lifting, and he played a pretty convincing Lil’ Abner, if I do sayso myself. Barry also met his future wife there while she was playing one of the Dogpatch lady folks…And yeah, I can see Rimmy Srone playing an awesome Pappy Yokum!=)…As always, thanks for bringing back the memories…And just for the heck of it to see if I have witch powers, too…I wonder how Sarah Palin is doing today!?!?!=)
Awesome!
Funny I saw this after just meeting you this past weekend! I thought about Dogpatch as I drove home today. Grandad Eubanks from Searcy took my brothers and me there at least twice, and I remember it as a fun escape, a great time! Another thing we have in common!