digger's chigger

Brook's nickname as a young man was "Digger". The little red bug that he is proudly standing along side is "Digger's Chigger". This photograph is imprinted with March 1970. This little car brings back a flood of memories. Brook would drop me off and pick me up from Boy Scout meetings in his little chigger. School mornings, Brook would load his sibs in the car and drop them off at the appropriate school. Mother, after riding with Brook, exclaimed that Brooky was gravitated toward all mud puddles. I believe Brook had driven mother down Hinds Road (a bumpy ride). Mother once told me that Brook "aimed at every puddle on the road". I remember the time Brook spun tight doughnuts in the Noccalula Nik Nak gravel parking lot (where the Noccalula Jack's Hamburger's is located now). Brook was caught by a red light while making his exit when Sherrif Felton Yates appeared from nowhere and had a brief talking to us. He said that he and his wife were enjoying an ice cream cone with their windows rolled down. Sheriff Yates was really nice about it. He had every right to make a bigger deal out of it. Brook had stirred up a good bit of dust.

This picture as a whole takes me back home. This is the backyard of our old house on 2624 Scenic Hwy. There were two mimosas in - one can be seen in the background with it's branches pared back. Those trees were perfect for little boys to climb on. I can also see part of our old plywood table-tennis table standing in the yard. It was a homemade table held up by two sawhorses. During that time Dad was heading up Gadsden Table Tennis Association (GTTA). Ping-pong was the favorite sport around our house. I remember Mother won a bunch of championships. If you run a search at History of U.S. Table Tennis Volume IV you'll find Westbrook "Wes" Finlayson mentioned.

But I digress. We had a great big yard front and back in which to play. There were oodles of pine trees in the front yard and a game of hide-and-go-seek which made for a long hunt.