The Color Purple

When I was in the 3rd grade, I noticed a new girl that started coming to my school. I didn't pay that much attention to her cause...I was a 3rd grader... and had getting home so I could play outside was on my mind. Next thing you know I heard from the grapevine that she had a crush on me and wanted to be my sweetheart. Since I'm such the lover boy, I accepted her crush and we were officially sweethearts. As time went on I didn't think much about it.. we just passed love notes back and forth.. you know the ones where you say... I like you- do you like me- check yes or no. Then I found out the church I was attending- was gonna deliver some fire wood out to their house. Let me tell ya now... I was all over that. For real now think about this... I was in the 3rd grade... how else was I going to get to her house. When we arrived we pulled up to this huge house, but when they lived there, It was very junky, beat up and old looking. I didn't think much about that either until I walked into the living room. What I seen in there gave me the chills and to this day I can still remember how it freaked me out seeing this. There was a door leading into the basement and on the door was a sign that said- do not enter... under that that was a drawing of a ghost figure. These days that would be a bunch of hog wash but back then it frightened me a little. Shoot, most 3rd graders were probably still checking under their beds at night for monsters.... I never understood that and I don't remember asking her anything about it. After a few weeks of sweet hearting.. I learned that they were very poor- so being the tender hearted guy that I am, I started giving her my pennies that I saved .... ain't I a stinker.. Now It gets interesting. Somehow it got worked out that she could come over to my house for a few hours and since I was the man of the house I wanted to show her around. So we went walking through the woods... before I go any further with this, I want you to know there was no hanky panky... I'm serious.. maybe a little pop kiss but that was it so don't even go there.... So were trotting through the woods and I had decided to bring my BB gun with me in case we seen some wild animals or some crazy freaks hanging in the woods. Well on the way back home she wanted to hold my BB gun. I want you to know that dad gum girl went and shot me in the butt with that thing... whew... man you talk about something that stings... it felt like a bumble bee the size of a pinto had stung me. By the way the pinto I'm talking about is a car made by ford back in the late 70s... not the bean. I was so mad... actually I wanted to cry but I had to be strong or at least in front of her. What made it even worse was she thought it was funny. After that the sweet heart thing started going down hill.. What, you think I enjoyed getting shot in the butt with a BB gun. I had that thing pumped so that it had a lot of pressure.... you know for the wild animals. I guess I was the only thing wild that day.... Anyhoo they soon moved away to who knows where. A few years later Steven Spielberg filmed the movie- The Color Purple in this house. Now ain't that something- Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey were in Lilesville. How cool is that. Back then I was too little to comprehend all that but I have always wondered what made them choose this house- here in little old Lilesville and why. In fact a good part of the movie was shot in NC. You know, I often wonder about those folks that lived there. Sometimes I wish I could run into my old so called sweet heart so I can ask her about that ghost figure on the do not enter sign. I would not even recognize her if she walked in front of me but I know one thing for sure though... If I ever do happen to run into her again, I will make sure she doesn't have a BB gun. I don't know which one hurt the most, her shooting me in the butt, or her laughing at me.