Papaw Stone and the African Mongoose

Hello folks, and welcome back to the porch! I’m up to my eyeballs in last minute details for the Great Southern Wing and a Prayer Tour! It’s closing in fast now! I’ll be leaving Wed. morning to drive to Nashville, TN where River Jordan and I will kick this event off at the famous Loveless Cafe! I hope y’all will follow along with us as we post updates here, on our blogs, on twitter, facebook and Youtube.

To tell you the truth, as of this moment, I’m so geared up packing that I can’t tell if I’ve lost a mule or found a rope. So, I’ve reached into the archive vault and pulled out a classic for y’all. I’m not sure what kind of camera we were using back then as the video quality leaves a bit to be desired in the opening scene but I chose it anyway because it’s one of my all time favorite stories! Kick back, relax, and let’s chat… ~smile~

My Papaw Stone had pranks for every occasion, but his favorite one involved his African Mongoose. Papaw loved finding someone who’d never seen his mongoose. He’d take this mongoose cage just like this one from the back of his pickup and begin his story.

He’d tell how he got the animal from a missionary friend who’d caught it in the jungle. Papaw’s mongoose cage was about four feet long and a foot high. It had a boarded up house on one end that the critter liked to run into and hide. If you peered through the little door into his house you could make out strands of long black hair from the elusive animal, (which was actually a wig from Aunt Marleta’s beauty shop).

Papaw had the top of the boxed end spring-loaded ready to fly open with a touch of his finger. Unknown to his audience Papaw also had a second wig attached to the lid and poised to fly out and towards the poor soul at the wrong end of the box.

As the story progressed, Papaw would describe the Mongoose’s long claws and sharp teeth and tell how it was so vicious he’d never been able to let the animal out in all the years he’d had him. Course, there was that time it got out accidentally and tore all the hide off his old coon dog. Papaw would shake his head sadly. Then he’d bang on the box and try to coax the animal out into it’s yard, all the while reminding his audience to be careful of the lid.

Once Papaw was sure he had a mark lined up just right, he’d flip the switch and watch the fun as that black wig flew out and attacked his victim!

We kids must have seen this show a hundred times, but it never failed to send us into fits of laughter. You know, an African Mongoose can tree a grown man faster than a good dog can tree a coon!

Hugs,
Shellie