Page 35 - Sorghum

Dr. E. W. Branyon’s Bio
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bottom and then another would run out the top. We finally realized there were so many `coons in that tree that every time one ran in the bottom, another had to run out the top.”
We couldn’t afford air conditioning but we did own the open air. The dorm that was our home was so hot in summer that most nights I’d sleep out with a couple of friends on cots be- yond the dorm’s hedgerow. Often we couldn’t sleep until it cooled off, usually at about two in the morning. Meanwhile we’d watch the shoot- ing stars, listen to the night sounds and in general have a good time.
Other times we’d ride our bicycles about three miles to the Buttahatchee River and camp out. That is, build a fire and sleep on blankets on the river bank. Other times we’d ride the fifteen miles to Guin on what was then a dirt road, US Highway 78. Kids this day and time don’t know. We didn’t have restraints, could shoot rifles almost anywhere, and roam around the town anytime feeling perfectly safe.
We had bicycles from Sears and Roe- buck with new Departure brakes and were constantly ordering gaskets or rings to repair them. We also learned how to put spokes in a