Weatherford Democrat
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Dear Editor,
Argyle, Texas, had: one store,
one post office, one service station,
one school, two churches, no police,
but – we had horny toads.
We grew: tomatoes, potatoes,
okra, peas, corn, watermelons,
cantaloupes, black-eyed peas,
and – we grew horny toads.
We played: skip rope, red rover,
Polyanna, pigs in a blanket,
with jacks, checkers,
and – we played with horny toads.
We had: feed sack dresses, short hair
cut page boy, shoes lined with cardboard,
knee-high socks, bleached sack sheets,
and – we had horny toads.
We saw: blue skies, clean air and
clean water, tall oak trees, lilacs,
and – we saw horny toads.
There were: windmills, outdoor toilets,
Sears and Roebuck catalogs,
log cabins, ponds, wood stoves,
and – there were horny toads.
We enjoyed: ham, beef, fried chicken,
beans and cornbread, sugar cookies,
fried squirrels and rabbits,
and – we enjoyed those horny toads.
Our friends were: little baby pigs and
small calves, baby chicks and
baby turkeys, mules, bluebirds and doves,
and – our friends the horny toads.
We loved: God, our mom and dad,
our grandmas and grandpas,
our sisters and brothers,
our teachers, friends and cousins,
and – we loved them horny toads.
When I grow up: I wanna be
a housewife, worship God,
have lots of friends, marry Lee,
and – grow horny toads.
But where is: the clean air and
water, grandma’s sugar cookies,
feed sack dresses, lilacs, red ants,
and – where are those horny toads?
Gloria West, Weatherford