Tales From The Hoochie: Recent Episodes
Katherine
Kathy's Hoochie Skirt Bait and Tackle Shop and Cafe is a bait and tackle shop out in the woods near the River. The Cafe out back is two coffee pots and a wooden plywood plank counter nailed to the back wall to hold Mrs. Betterman's baked goods on for the short time they last.The Hoochie Skirt is where old men tell tales, teach the children carefully and well, and light the fires of the imagination. It is a place either easy or impossible to find, depending upon your heart.
The conclusion of the calling up ceremony conducted by The Men of the Hoochie.
And looked upon by The Elk.
Kathy's Hoochie Skirt Bait and Tackle Shop, and Cafe is a place where old men pass on their wisdom to young men, and everyone has a good time.
This is a graduation ceremony, a calling up into manhood that occurs nowhere but The Hoochie.
Nowhere else will you find The Stone Of Sacrifice. But you will find it here, along with its story.
The Commodore teaches astronomy and celestial navigation.
He also knows The Great Elk of the Forest.
The Commodore taught fourteen children the basics of looking up at the sky, what is a constellation, and how to find the North Star.
But more goes on at The Hoochie than the parents realize.
The Hoochie instructors are blessed with more than just talent, desire, and experience.
The Hoochie was a source of never ending education, from mountaineering to cowboy skills to swimming.
The hottest summer days were the days Misters Ronnie and Poteet took children from diapers to teenagers down to the river to learn how to master the water.
Sometimes optimism can get the better of you.
Little Henry, his first day on the water, learned how to float very well. A little too well.
And that's what this episode is about.
Mister Jack is a mountaineer and today he's teaching the kids about a way to climb straight up a rope when the mountain is too steep. It's called the Prusik Knot, used with Prusik loops.
The Hoochie's southern wall is mostly an old stone chimney, slightly over 12-feet tall. It's the ice wall for the day, and the children climb the ropes up the side of the chimney using Prusik Loops.
Robert, Mister Jack's twelve year old protege, demonstrates his mountaineering skills and gets a special reward at the end of the day.
Don't tell his Mom.
Mister Evinrude Poteet has a dream and goes to check the boats to make sure that after a night of revelry, Mole, Ratty, and Mister Toad are safely moored back at the beach.
A fish humping in the pool makes him remember summer's fishing classes, and the satisfaction they bring to all involved.
Welcome to The Hoochie. A typical bait and tackle shop out in the middle of the woods near the river, where three men hold forth to tell stories and teach.
If you find it, you know you belong there.