The Prodigal and Other Stories : Totalrecall Publications, Inc. : 9781590954881 : 1590954882 : 05 May 2020 : The first house I remember was a double pen structure which sat up on tall blocks. It was in the western part of The Delta not far from the Big River. The soil was buckshot which had only recently been released from the clutches of the surrounding swamp water. It was dark, grainy, and very rich but not easy to farm. When dry, it would shrink and develop large cracks. When wet, it was heavy, would clod up, and be very slick--some said, "as slick as owl shit." But in crop years when the weather was neither wet too late nor dry too early, it produced a bountiful harvest. Light came from coal oil lamps. Water came from a pitcher pump in the back yard. There were no screens on the windows. There was an outhouse close by the garden fence. The road was dirt - mud when it rained. There were no books but there were always the stories. My brother and I would not go to bed unless Daddy t