I was on the Gallia County Farm near the old swimming hole on Symmes Creek, about a kilometer from the Farmhouse. My father, my mother, my grandmother Mabel and some other people were climbing the large hill above the creek, looking at trees and talking about which ones they intended to cut for lumber. They were unsure they would be able to cut the trees because they didn't know how to haul the trees off the hill. I thought even if the large trees were cut down, the many small trees on the hill would soon grow back.
After my mother and someone else had climbed up the side of the hill, I decided to ascend the hill myself. As I climbed, I noticed some cement steps lying on the side of the hill and concluded that at one time some houses must have stood there. If I only had a metal detector, I would enjoy searching for coins or other artifacts in the area.
The hill was extremely steep and peppered with many large, precariously balanced rocks. Some rocks looked like large pieces of rectangular crystals. Some were hanging beneath other rocks and seemed firmly attached. But clearly a landslide could easily start. Realizing the danger of climbing the hill, I backed off and started down the hill.
I worked my way around the side of the hill until I reached a red brick road, where I found my father sitting in a wheelchair, holding a rifle. When I suddenly appeared in front of him from behind some rocks, he pointed the gun at me, apparently thinking I was an animal, but he didn't shoot. I walked over to him and asked, "Did you think I was an animal?"
He wasn't friendly, he didn't answer, and he even acted as if he didn't want me there. He was obviously looking for an animal to shoot. I thought he might be shooting birds.
For the first time I noticed a large house standing on the side of the hill. A black man wearing a suit and tie walked onto the porch and asked my father to move on. A large park (with streets laid in red brick running through it) spread out in front of the house; apparently the park also belonged to the black man. As my father wheeled himself into the park and down one of the streets, the black man began walking toward my father. I thought the man intended to run my father out of the park.
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