Chewing Tobacco Part 2

And now you’ll read the rest of the story continued from yesterday.  My dad’s chewing tobacco story:

As the tobacco began to get soft in my mouth, Dad came around to where I was and said, “Hal, you see all those cattle there across the fence?  I want you to go over there and drive that herd into the corral at the headquarters near the house.”  I could see our three story house at the top of the hill about a mile away.  I was really enjoying myself, chewing and spitting, and trying to get the cattle to begin to graze towards headquarters.  But some cows would go back around to my right.  I would walk over to the right and drive them back to the herd, but then part of those on the left would start back.  So I was spending my time going east and west instead of north toward the house.  I was getting annoyed, as I was sure those cattle were doing it on purpose!

But I was still enjoying my tobacco.  That’s the first time I had ever put half a plug in my mouth at once.  It was beginning to get big, and I had to spit quite often.  Suddenly, three or four cows to my right decided to turn back again, and that really made me mad.  This time I ran as hard as I could toward them with rocks in my hand.  But I stumbled and fell, and when I did . . . , I swallowed the tobacco.  In a few minutes those cows began to look to me like they were about the size of ants.  And the three story house a mile away looked like a little doll house.  I don’t know how I ever got to the house.

I woke up very sick at my stomach, in my parent’s bed in their bedroom downstairs. The room was dark, and my mother was sitting beside me.  Dad came in, and I heard him tell Mother he thought I was going to die.  That really scared me, though I tried not to show it.  When they left the room, I became very religious.  I prayed to God, begging Him to save my life.  It occurred to me that I had better show God I was serious about what I was asking, so I told Him if he would save me from dying, I would not chew tobacco any more.

In the morning when I woke up, the sun was high in the sky.  I was thrilled to realize I was still alive!  Pretty soon they let me get out of bed, though I was very weak.  But I want to tell you this:  I thanked God very sincerely for saving my life, and I have kept my promise not to ever chew tobacco again. (I did start smoking.  I smoked an occasional cigar until I was eighteen, but I didn’t promise God I wouldn’t smoke, just that I wouldn’t chew.)