Mountain man

         Don’t ever marry a mountain man. Sit back and listen to my story and I’ll tell ya why. I grew up in the back hills o' Kentucky. Thin's are very different there. It's like a whole different world, a different society where the men are men and the women are – well, women - I guess. We got lots of dawgs and a pick up truck, a run down ol' house, but it's clean inside. The men folk hunt and farm mostly. Occasionally paw might fix someone’s truck for a little money and what not, but basically, we live off the land and stick to ourselves.

         

         My parent’s marriage is sound, if you could call it that. My paw rules the house and my maw just does as he says. She don’t ever argue with him ‘cause if’n she did, he’d just backhand her to shut her up. My maw is a pretty talented woman; she can sew and cook good and grow a garden, too. She used to be a right pretty lady ‘cept the time has taken its toll on her. She taught me how to sew and cook too, but I ain’t as good as she. Boy, she can cook a mean rabbit stew. In fact, she can fix anythin' my paw brings home. Sometimes it might be rabbit, my personal favorite, or sometimes squirrel or deer or somethin'.



         Paw, he ain’t much on manners. Sometimes he’ll come home from a hunt and slam the dead animal on the table and yell at maw to get to fix’in. She’d just get up and skin and wash the vermin and make somethin' good out o' it. I admired my maw, I did. She loved us kids and did the best she could for us. She’d get up early and go to bed late to see to it that we was taken care of. ‘Course, she wouldn’t go against paw for nothin'. If’n we wanted somethin' and paw said no – we need not ask maw ‘cause she’d side with him ever time. I can’t say as I blame her though, smart woman as she was ‘cause she knew if’n she crossed the line, paw would just knock her cross the room till she saw things his way.



         I have an older brother. I hate that son o' bitch though. He always just took what he wanted. Didn’t matter if’n it was his or not. Sometimes when my brother would sass paw or somethin', Paw would take him outside and whale on him with a sawed off broomstick. Didn’t matter though, it just made my brother more stubborn and meaner than hell. When he got to be growed - ‘bout sixteen or so years ol' - we all feared him ‘cept for paw.



    My brother, he done what he wanted to my little sister and me. Sometimes when maw and paw were gone in town or somethin', he’d just beat us for no reason. Yeah, he’d just pull off that belt o' his and start smackin' away. We’d cry out, but didn’t matter. He’d just keep whippin' us till he was through. Then he’d laugh at us and ask, “Y'all know why I beat you?”  We’d look at him with tears runnin' down our faces and he’d say, “'Cause I can.” He’d just laugh again. We only told on him one time. Didn’t do no good though. In fact, my paw he’d just tell our brother that it was good o' him to show his manhood by making us girls submissive. Hell, maw wouldn’t do nothing neither 'cause she wouldn’t go against paw and she was scared of our brother, too. Shoot - one time when paw wernt home, my brother, told my maw to suck his dick. I couldn’t believe it, but sure enough he dropped his drawers right there in front o' god and everybody. Now, my maw, she wasn’t about to suck no dick so my brother, he just pushed her down and raped her right there on the kitchen floor. Twrent nothin' we could do but watch ‘cause we knew if’n we did anythin', our brother would tie us up and beat us to death. When paw came home, nobody said nothin' 'bout what happened. Paw never knew.



         Now my brother, he went and got married when he was eighteen. He picked a fine looking woman. She is pretty most of the time ‘cept when my brother gives her a black eye or somethin'. They done had two kids. The first one was a girl so my brother killed it right off 'cause he wanted a son. The next one was a boy, though; so he was happy. He said he needed a son to help him keep the future kids in line. He waited about six years 'fore he got his wife pregnant again. He says it was so the boy could tower over any siblin's that come along.

         Now I’m all growed up. I married the neighbor’s son. I do my best to keep a clean house and keep my man happy. We’re expecting our first kid soon. 'Course, my husband says it better be a son….

And life goes own …. So don’t marry a mountain man 'less you wanta live like that.