Rev. A.J. Ogden

Growing up with a wood stove, fireplace, no phone in the house, and very few conveniences, we learned to make do with very little. Little was all we had and we did not know the difference I guess. Scrubbing clothes on a wash board, drawing water from a well, and having no electricity was a part of everyday life as computers and cell phones are today. Having no car, riding a horse, or walking to school four miles was a part of everyday life. No air conditioning in a shack with cracks in the floors was home to me in Wilkinson County, Mississippi.

After many years of being away from the old place my heart began to long to see it again…I guess you would call it home sickness. Returning back to that old place where I was born, I was disappointed at all the changes that had taken place. I should have known it would never look the same, but it was kind of sad. Approaching the old house site, we could not tell at first exactly where it stood. The creek had changed its course a little, the big oak tree was now gone. In the yard I did not see mama boiling clothes in that big old black wash pot. The flower garden where roses bloomed, and many other flowers were covered with honey bees, was not there. Smoke was not rising up from the old chimney anymore! In fact it was not there and the old shack had rotted completely away and turned to dust, as all things do with age.

After much searching, I finally found a little pile of bricks from the old chimney fireplace where I warmed my feet years ago. Things were not like they used to be, but I guess they never have been, have they?