--> copywright©Jerry D. McDonnell, 2004 Published in Northwoods Journal, 2006 by Jerry Dale McDonnell The first thing I remember is hugging rolled-down hose, My head padded against thigh-high varicose veins while Grandma Baked muffins And love In front of the apple tree caressing the window. Outside, enormous bonnets and shy looks shed ultra-violent fall out, Haystack babies, Catfish cravings, Joe Lewis heavyweight chocolate, Humid ice cream, Watermelon theft; The muddy Mississippi ground past Mark Twain's steamboat like an omnipotent glacier with an attitude. We had a telephone but it didn't suck leach-like at our belt and Stalk us into the sunrise ringing at the climax of warmth. Ours sat stationary, politely, in its place, in the corner. Cars were plain, simple, good enough for the time: “We could