Stump THE FERGETTIN' PIT

There’s this place out in the woods we used to play in. It has ends of old cars sticking out of it. We liked to look at all the out of state plates. Sam said it was no place for young un’s. He said that’s where the old fergettin’ pit was before they filled it in and dug a new one a few miles away. The fergettin’ pit is were folks toss stuff they don’t want no more or stuff they want to forget about. It used to smell real bad round there. I don’t know why anbody would want to forget about an old car, but there sure were a lot of them around there.

Stump FALL

I like the way the leaves look in the fall, all orange and red. But I don’t like the fall night screams. Sam say’s the screams is just a part of nature, like the leaves turnin’, but they ain’t pretty like the leaves. Sometimes I think I hear words in the screams, like “No” and “God”. I told Sam about the words and he gave me the switch for blaspheming. The screams usually last for about a week. Sometimes they just kinda fade away, other times they just stop suddenly. When they do it always takes awhile for the normal night noises to come back.

Stump SALESMAN

One time this salesman came to town and tried to sell us some cook pots. They was real nice. Better’n ours. We didn’t have no money but Sam invited him and told me to go down to the creek for some water. When I got back Sam said that the salesman had to leave but because he liked us so much he gave us some of the pots for free. He must have really liked Sam because he gave him his jacket and hat too

Stump TEETH

Some folks just like to collect stuff. Sam collects teeth. He’s got a big ol’ jar of em’ Some even got real gold in em. Norma and me got to talkin’ and we figured if I put that jar under my pillow I could get rich and maybe buy her somethin’ nice. Only Sam caught me sneakin it to my room and popped me good in the face. He even knocked out a tooth. He said if I wanted to get rich I could put that under my pillow and he’de make sure I had some more to give to if I touched his teeth again. I didn’t get no kickle for it.

Stump SAUSAGE JOHN

Sausage John come down from the hills yesterday. We call him Sausage John ‘cause he makes real good sausages. Our favorite is one he calls “hunter blend”. He always laughs when he say’s “hunter Blend” and Sam always smiles. I laugh too but I don’t get what’s so funny. It’s good eatin though and he always brings me a new hat.

Stump PLAY

One time Sam took me to this play. I ain’t never seen no play before. It was with real actors from out of town and everything. Sam was even in the play. I didn’t really get what it was about but they were screamin’ and cryin’. Sam was yellin’ and laughin’ and pokin’ em with sticks and things. The whole town thought it was really funny. Then they got nailed to wooden crosses and stuck up on a hill. It looked almost as real as that movie show I saw once. It was long play. It was still goin’ on a couple of days later. After that the actor’s left. I don’t know where they went but I hope they come back.

Stump PLEH

There’s this old cabin about a mile down that over grown trail. I found it once when I got lost playin’ hide-an-seek with Sissy and Norma. It smells real bad around there. Someone had wrote somethin’ on the window in jam. It was kinda hard to read but I could make it out. I think it said PLEH only all the letters were backwards. I guess they ain’t too good with letters. I don’t know what PLEH means. Must be their name.

Stump THE GRANDPA LAMP

We have this old lamp in the house called the Grampa lamp. I don’t know why they call it that but it’s keen old lamp. It’s got an anchor on the shade, cause grampa was in the navy. I thought maybe he got the lamp in some far off country, but I heard that Sam made the lamp. I never met my grampa.

Stump DIGGIN'

I was diggin in the garden and I found all these white sticks. I showed ‘em to Sam and he got real mad. He made me put them back in the ground and promise I wouldn’t dig there anymore. I don’t know why he got so mad, cause sometimes at night, I see him diggin’ there too.

Stump BANGIN'

I couldn’t sleep last night again. That damn celler door wouldn’t stop bangin’. I wish Sam would do something about it. He knows I don’t sleep to good. But Sam say’s they’re better if they’re scared. He say’s it just makes ‘em taste better. I don’t know if that’s true but they sure keep me up nights.

Stump LETTING OFF STEAM

So the boys went up to the mountains this week. Sissy say’s not to be so worried. She says they just need to let off a little steam. They’ll be up there for a day or two, maybe three, and then come on down. Never lasts more than a few days. Besides, this time it ain’t anybody we know, just some hitchhiker they found near the crossroads.

STUMP an INTRODUCTION

While writing Bus Stop, I would have much darker stories come to mind. To get them out I created Stump, which shares a voice with Bus Stop but really are the stories of a naïve boy who lives in a pretty isolated mountain community where all is not well.