Things Learned Under The Mimosa Trees!

Growing up in a small rural area meant we typically got haircuts a couple of times a month. My grandfather used to take us a few miles out of town to a man’s house and he had his little barber shop out in his backyard. This fellow had the largest mimosa trees I’ve ever seen. They were huge. We had some in our yard but they never really amounted to much. His trees could be climbed and it was really great climbing because the branches were spread out far and wide which gave plenty of room. These trees had a special kind of worm that fed on its leaves which were prized for fishing, especially for white perch.

We could have gotten our haircut in town but my grandfather didn’t really care for that barber. He only had one eye and every time some one sat down in the chair he would ask how they wanted their hair cut and then everyone around would burst out laughing because they knew it didn’t matter, he was going to cut it the same way every time, his way, which usually meant bad.

Us boys heard many stories when we went for a haircut. One day out under the mimosa trees an older gentleman sat down in one of the wooden chairs. He looked inside the shop and saw my granddad. Then he looked at me. He said, “Boy, is that Rancher McMillan in there?” I said proudly, “Yes sir, it is.” He then asked, “Are you his grandson?” Again, “Yes sir, I am.” He then proceeded to tell me a remarkable story about something that had happened many years earlier.

He began, “Your Grandpa and I go way back. We used to saw logs together. We cut trees in some of the big woods all around these parts. One day he and I were getting ready to fell a huge pine tree and I was using my axe to bed it on one side. When I swung that axe back it came out of my hand and flew through the air and hit your grandpa right in the face. In fact, it plum cut his nose off. Your grandpa grabbed his nose because it was still hanging and put it back on his face and held it tight. I loaded him up in the truck and carried him to Doc Stephens who sewed it back on. He didn’t even deaden it. We then went back to the woods. Yep, I’m probably the only man you will ever know who cut your grandpa’s nose off!”

What a story! When I asked Paw Paw about it he just waved it off like he always did whenever anyone tried to talk about him. Later in his life when he suffered much in the way of sinus problems I often thought about that story. I can’t imagine having your nose sewed up with no pain medication. But I will tell you this. From what I know about my granddad the entire story has the ring of truth and it added to the legend of my great respect for this man of influence in my life. That’s at least one thing I learned under the mimosa trees that I will never forget. .…..More later.