Talya Tate Boerner - grace grits and gardening

Land Johnson, Louisiana State Fair-1953

October 17, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

throwback thursday #TBT

Paul Land Johnson
Birth: August 7, 1914 (Mississippi)
Death: June 15, 1978 (Louisiana)

This is a picture of my Great-Uncle Land Johnson taken at the Louisiana State Fair in 1953. Didn’t he look like a movie star?

There are two things I know about Johnson men (seven original Johnson brothers and many, many more now)…

1. They ALL (had) have smoldering good looks.

2. They (were) are all natural born story-tellers.

The most incredible story about Uncle Land involved his ‘argument’ with an alligator. Although the yarn has grown through the years as most great tales do, I can only relay the story as I’ve heard it from Uncle Bud (Land’s son), another handsome Johnson yarn spinner…

As Uncle Land and his friend Emil spent a peaceful afternoon trotline fishing on the Mississippi River, a curious alligator swam up to their aluminum boat. The unusually clear water allowed the men a perfect view of this monster.

What to do?

Instead of hightailing it to shore or trolling in water not infested with predators, they poked him between the eyes with an oar… The beast went berserk. He bumped and rocked and pitched the boat, nearly dumping them into the river.

Being prepared farmer-hunters, the men had firearms on board. Uncle Land shot the alligator with his 12 gauge, making him even more crazed. His second shot, fired with a 22 rifle, killed the thing.

For days, Uncle Land hauled the alligator around town in the bed of his truck proudly showing off his 8+ foot trophy. Eventually he skinned, cleaned and cooked it but didn’t much like the taste. His son, Bud, took the alligator head to school which no doubt impressed all the girls.

I left out the part alleging Uncle Land death-rolled the alligator underwater like Tarzan, King of the Apes. Whether or not that happened is up for discussion among the cousins. One thing’s for sure—we all agree Uncle Land didn’t let the big one get away.

Land Johnson with his alligator…

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.”
― Marc Riboud

Musical Pairing:

Hank Williams, I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive

(#1 hit song, January 1953)

What Would You Do?

October 16, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

The afternoon felt like an episode of that popular John Quinones television show What Would You Do? But John Quinones wasn’t hiding in the shrubs or parked on the curb, and these were no actors.

Over the past ten years, I’ve heard and/or watched the scene play out before, only this time his rage was nearly escalated to a point of no return. Of course, how do you really know what another person’s tipping point is?

It’s easy to not get involved. I’m good at minding my own business. No one knows what goes on behind closed doors, and we haven’t walked in someone else’s shoes, and there are two sides to every story, yada, yada, yada. I know all that. But when anger is displayed and flaunted in front of me, I will no longer be silent. Children must be protected, sometimes by outsiders.

Sometimes by me.

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.