Outskirts Press, INC.

Stories of an Old-Time Southern Boyhood…

Born on a frosty morn deep in the heart of Dixie, H. Bryan Parris experienced a way of life that most of us will never know. He grew up in Southern country, in a small community near Jacksonville, Alabama. He can trace his family tree back for generations, and the rock from which he was hewn is solid and true: hard-working, honest folks to whom family ties and personal integrity were the most important things in their lives. Reflections in Time shares anecdotes and life lessons from the Parris family, ranging from the hilarious to the tragic, with plenty of thought-provoking memories and observations about life. Take a journey down memory lane to meet a stepmother who generously opened her heart; witness a chilling incident of backwoods justice; run through the woods and fields with the Parris family hunting dogs; and sit on the hood of a teenager’s car, listening to Rock-n-Roll and drinking Cherry Coke. You’ll be enlightened and entertained by these true tales of real people facing hard times, and learning life lessons that can’t be taught in any school.

From the chapter, Me and Grandpa Was Plowin: I do remember being at Grandpa's one day, and Grandpa let me go with him to the field up behind the house where he was plowin. I couldn't have been more than five or six years old. Grandpa put me in front of him, put my hands on the cross bar between the plow handles, whipped the reins and his ole mule Nat began a slow walk across the field. He looked down at me and said, "Plow it straight,now,plow it straight..." Me and Grandpa, we was plowin. We got to the end of the row and Grandpa said "Gee in here Nat,gee" and Nat began to turn. Then Grandpa pulled back on the reins and said,"Whoa,Nat" and we stopped. I looked up and saw a man looking down at me that I thought was bigger than life itself.