Happy! – Feb 15 ('That's one!')

Subject: Happy! – Feb 15 ('That's one!')
From: Abby Sale
Date: 15 Feb 06 - 08:50 AM


Happy Birthday!

Richard Chase was born (and died) near Huntsville, Alabama on February 15, 1904 (d. Feb 1988).
He attended Harvard University for two years before graduating from Antioch College in 1929.
By that time he already had begun to collect tales.
A chance visit to Pine Mountain Settlement School in eastern Kentucky when he was 21 years of age
launched Chase on his career of studying, telling and collecting tales.
Chase published both works on tales and collections of tales.
Some are on CD.
I read some of his tales when I was just 16 and in later years, one greatly helped me raise my family:

"That's one!"

Seems that when Chase was young a neighboring local farmer went up to town to get himself a wife. After just a few days he and his new bride were heading back to the farm in the horse cart. They had little to say to each other but were amicable enough.

After a bit the horse stumbled in a pothole and nearly threw them out of the cart. The farmer stood up in the cart and shouted, "That's one!" Then he sat down, took the reins and they went on. The new wife stared at him a while wondering what that was all about but he said nothing so she said nothing either.

Soon a bird flew across the road in front of the horse and the horse shied nearly throwing them out of the cart. The farmer stood straight up in the cart and shouted, "That's two!" Then he sat down, took the reins and they went on. The new wife, really concerned maybe she'd got hitched to some kind of lunatic, stared very hard at him he said nothing so she said nothing either and so they went on.

Barely a mile further up the road, just as they were turning into the farmer's own lane, the old horse stumbled against the corner of the gate and nearly tumbled them out of the cart. The farmer stood up in the cart and shouted, "That's three!" Then he pulled out his shotgun and shot the horse dead. The wife stared at him utterly stunned for about four seconds then she started in on him. "What kind of a crazy, mean thing was that to do?" she said. That poor old horse and what had she got herself into and was he crazy and how were they to get them selves and their gear to the house and so on. She was so upset she went on quite a bit and the farmer, he just sat there saying nothing at all.

When she finally wound down he still said nothing until he stood up in the cart and shouted, "That's one!"

Well, you know, the wife picked up the gear on her back, toted up to the house, unpacked, made dinner and welcomed him to the marriage bed. They lived happily as man and wife nearly 50 years and never had another argument.

["recreated," not quoted - the book's all the way on the other side of the room.]
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One day The Daughter at about 6 years of age was being particularly rotten. So I told her Mr. Chase's story and then I stared her hard in the eye and said, "You know how you've been acting so far today? Well, that's one!" You know she straightened out pretty well. Several times over the next years I'd have to say, "That's one!" But I never had to say, "That's two!" Right up to her mid-teens, of course. Worked pretty good with the Ancient Spouse, too.

Copyright © 2005, Abby Sale - all rights reserved
What are Happy's all about? See Clicky

Subject: RE: Happy! – Feb 15 ('That's one!')
From: Scotus
Date: 15 Feb 06 - 02:33 PM

For shame, Abby

Subject: RE: Happy! – Feb 15 ('That's one!')
From: Barry Finn
Date: 15 Feb 06 - 03:52 PM

Abby - "That's one".
Barry