Remembering Daddy

Today is Father's Day -- the second one since I lost my Dad. I was just thinking about him and remembering something that happened when I was in high school.

We had just moved to Ft. Stockton and my Dad, who had driven a truck for years, was now home at normal hours. Daddy met a man named Harry and the two guys would go coon hunting at night. Harry had a pack of hunting dogs and they would go out into a wooded area and let the dogs chase raccoons. Dad had a wonderful time.

One day I opened the refrigerator and found a large foil wrapped package inside. I asked what it was and my Dad told me that they had treed a particularly large raccoon the night before and that they dressed it and that we were having it for dinner that night. Hummmmm. OK, I guess I'll try it.

Sure enough, that night we had a piece of meat that I didn't recognize and sure enough, my Dad told me that it was the raccoon. It was really good and I was hoping that Daddy and Harry would find another raccoon soon.

Later in the week my Great-Uncle called when I was the only one at home. As we chatted I mentioned that we had eaten raccoon a couple of days earlier. "Really?" asked my Uncle.
Oh, yes, I said, and it was really good! He was quiet a minute or two and then asked me to have my Dad call him when he got home. I forgot.

Days later I remembered to tell him and my Dad made the call.
He was puzzled to have my Uncle offer to loan him some money. If things were tight he had only to ask! Daddy asked why Uncle thought things were that tight that he would need to borrow money. "Well," said my Uncle," Anita told me that you guys had raccoon for dinner and I thought that if things were that bad you might need to borrow some money." My Dad had a big laugh over that and explained that we hadn't eaten raccoon -- we had eaten cabrito. (baby goat)

My Dad asked me not to go around telling people that we were eating raccoon anymore. (Evidently, raccoon is a musky tasting meat and it isn't usually eaten.) It was one of my Dad's practical jokes that backfired!

Happy Father's Day