THE CHERRY TREE

One summer day we had no school. All the kids were trying to find something to do..we had parade, we caught insects and put them in jars to watch them fight to see who would win. We captured fire flys and there used to be so many praying mantises. These days I don't see any at all...I don't know what happened to them. They were ugly and we used to put them in and watch them fight one another...Cruel and unusual punishment.. I don't remember the ladies name but she had a huge very old red cherry tree. It was just loaded down with cherries. All the kids were anxious to eat them but being in the ladies yard nobody dared. Then one day, the lady came out on her porch and invited all the kids to come and pick as many as they wanted..It was one of the greatest days I can remember all the kids ran to get buckets, cups anything they could carry cherries in...We climbed up, up, into the huge boughs of that cherry tree...we ate as many as we picked and spit the seeds at one another laughing and enjoying our afternoon...The lady was very pleased to see us all have a wonderful afternoon..and glad that we were able to practically strip that tree of it's fruit before the bird got a hold of them...It was a gift that I know I will never forget...