Pigs Run Wild!

From 1957-1963 our family lived on a small farm in a place called Mount Pleasant and on Mount Joy road. It was a veritable children’s paradise. In addition to pasture, woods and streams, there were all sorts of wild and domesticated animals. My father moved my mother and we children away from the city. And of course he was going to raise some animals. He purchased two piglets and purchased special feed that was sure to fatten them up in record time for slaughter. He couldn’t wait for the smell of lard, bacon and ham steaks sizzling on the stove in a Griswold skillet. Well, my dad was a truck driver and gone a good portion of the week. Sometimes, he’d be gone a couple of weeks or so it seemed. I remember helping slop the hogs but there are other recollections that stand out more. My older sister got the bright idea that these pigs were just the right size for us to ride. I was about 5 and she was a couple of years older. And the pigs were kept in the lower portion of a rather large barn. She and I figured out how to cordon off a race course within the barn. And lo and behold we began what is known as “Piggie Races.” Racing the pigs was such a great time and somehow we knew not to mention this to our father. Over time, our dad became very frustrated with the pigs. They grew but they had muscles. And he remarked that they were the leanest pigs he had ever seen. He even went and pitched a fit to the feed mill that sold him the special fattening slop mix. Many months went by with Diane and I and sometimes our younger brother Dan riding these pigs. Finally, our dad came home early from road trip to find the pigs hollering and the kids laughing up a storm. He came in to the barn with his hands on his hips and looking so stern, kinda mad. “What are you kids doing to my pigs?” Diane looked at him and gave him that smile that only she could give and he bust out laughing. I thought to myself, “Phew, that was a close one!”

Now these pigs liked my dad. I don’t know how they figured out that he was such a nice guy. Maybe it was that special feed he always seemed to be putting in their slop. On one Sunday afternoon, the family was sitting in the yard between the house and barn. It sloped from the high side of the road and front of the house and leveled off down by the shanty out back. Our grandparents had come for a visit and were sitting on the side-porch. Our granddad, Big Jim, was well over 300 pounds and very much like jolly ol’ Santa Claus. We always enjoyed having him around. He’d play cards and sing to us children. My dad was sitting in the grass reading the Sunday comics. There were times when my dad let the pigs out of the barn and they seemed to stay close by. Well, on this particular Sunday afternoon, the pig that was beginning to get rather large starts to stare at my father. But dad is reading the comics and is not paying attention. As we watched, the pig moseys up to where my dad is seated. My father was a tall man and he sat on the ground with his long legs bent at the knee and paper in his lap. As the pig stares, it walks past my father and directly in front of where he’s seated. When the pig gets just past my father, it begins to move backwards guiding his body in the direction of my father. Imagine a pig trying to look backwards to see where he’s going. As this is happening all the children are looking at each other and our grandfather. Our grandfather realizes something very unusual and interesting is happening and he sits up and forward to pay closer attention. If you didn’t know it, you might have thought that the pig was a big rig just like my dad drove because he was looking over his shoulder trying to direct this big body toward my father. And as if this pig knew how to drive in reverse, he backs into my father’s lap and sits down on the Sunday funny papers and my father’s hands. Now, I don’t want to be guilty of anthropomorphizing a pig, but this pig sits on its hind legs, front legs straight and puts a smile on his face, like “look at me,” I did it! At the moment the pig sits in my dad’s lap the entire family including my grandfather erupts in laughter. My father never saw it coming! We still tell this story in our family!