Man, Mule, And Mouse Comments

Man, Mule and Mouse
By Curtis Johnson
When I was growing up on a plantation in the Northern Mississippi Delta in the late fifties and early sixties, all across those white fields of cotton in early fall, one cotton-filled sack at a time was lifted from the hands of human cotton pickers and into the hands of the man on the mule. The sacks were often heavy and stacked high, but not once did I hear complaints from the mule. With cotton sacks firmly secured between man and mule, off they went to the weighing scales. Two young men, Bubba and Louis, balanced the load of cotton sacks on the mule by sitting or by standing. They were very skilled at their low-paying task, and they looked proud of their abilities. I tell you, it was a beautiful sight to behold. Sometimes, with ropes and a single plow, the mule would be used to cultivate the gardens.
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