Back in the last century before Nikes and Jordans were around, when Colonel Sanders was still flipping hamburgers at Mickey D’s, and I was just a little kid, looters used to steal our chickens. Yes, live squawking chickens.
Dad would hear a ruckus in the middle of the night coming from our hen house on the back alley of our place. When he investigated, he found some two legged varmit grabbing chickens off the roost and sprinting down down the alley, feathers flying, with a chicken in each hand. Over time, we began to lose all our chickens. Our chicken house had become a target for chicken thieves.
Needless to say, dad was very upset because back then stealing a chicken or two was taking food from our mouths. So he comes home one day with a pistol and some ammo. Next raid on the chicken house he goes out on the back porch and calmly fires a few random rounds into the old chicken house. And guess what, one of those Olympic-style sprinters emerges and breaks running down the alley at full speed empty handed.
Now this was before cell phones and social media, but the word seem to get around to avoid our chicken house. We lost very few chickens from then on. Same thing for gas siphoning which used to be the other problem we experienced.
If I were to say these looters were black, you would call me a racist. If I were to say I was born in Texas, you would call me a racist anyway. I’m sorry, but back then I didn’t know I was a racist. I was just a kid. I’m glad to see how far our relationships with the black community have progressed since the last century. At least back then, they had to “work” for their chicken dinner. Now the government promises them a free chicken dinner. Ain’t progress great.
Oh and while I’m on the subject of farm animals and racism, don’t ever leave your goat unattended in Texas...
:) I enjoyed your post! My Dad did the same thing when I was a kid; sat in our bedroom window several nights watching the hen house until the thief made another attempt. He fired directly into the hen house. If he had been successful in wounding or even killing the thief; there would certainly have been no charges and no questions asked in those times. One had the unquestioned right to protect one’s property in those days. Dad would gladly have given anyone food if they came to the door and asked
but he wouldn’t tolerate anyone stealing from him.