Richard, the paperboy, from The Red Scarf, July 1944, # 17

Richard, the paperboy, from The Red Scarf, July 1944, #17
Hot, hot, hot, dang; it’s so blessed hot I can’t even walk across the stupid road. Uh, huh, that’s right. My feet is so tough I can run through a sticker-burr patch without it bothering me a bit. Heck, when you’ve been going barefoot since April you can step on just about anything…except a blacktop highway. Wow, about three steps and it feels like you are walking on hot coals. But you know what? Having tough feet can be kinda fun. Just last week Ronnie, from the big city of Tulsa came to Norphlet for the summer, and wouldn’t you know it. The danged kid hadn’t even taken off his shoes all summer. Well, after we laughed at him and called him a sissy, he shed them shoes and shirt where he would look just like us, but he didn’t. Heck, he was so white it looked as if someone had dumped a bag of flour on him. But not for long. The next day he was a red as a firetruck from burning up in the sun. Blistered all to heck. And then…yeah, we should have done it but we couldn’t help it.
“Hey, Ronnie! Come on we’re going to the ballfield!” I yelled and looked at John Clayton as I pointed at a big open field that I knew was full of sticker burrs and bull nettles. “Come on, Ronnie! You slowpoke! Hurry!” Well, we took off across that field running through sticker burr patches and dodging the big green bull nettles. None of that stuff bothered our tough feet. But Ronnie got about half way across when he pulled up like some lame mule. “Ahaaaa! I got stickers in my feet! And I done stepped in a bull nettle! Heck, it was the funnest thing we’d done in a month of Sundays. Ronnie crawled over to the edge of the field and sat there whining while we laughed and he pulled out stickers. “Look at my feet!” Ronnie whinned. “Then bull nettles stings is killing me!” We quit laughing and said, “Shoot, Ronnie, if you want to stop the bull nettle stings you, just pee on your feet.” “What?” “Yep,” said John Clayton it’s the only way stop the burning and stinging. Cross my heart…hope to die.” Well, Ronnie had his doubts, but with a little egging on, he peed on both feet. Heck, I don’t have no idea if peeing on your feet would stop a bull nettle sting from hurting, but it sure was funny to see one of your friends pee on his feet. Heck, later that day, Doc ran him out of the newsstand cause his feet was smelling up the place.