Mike loves to go for afternoon rides and see the "country." I've been having to stay "in the area," just in case Evie Kate decides to make her appearance. I'm on the "going into labor" call in the event Sawyer and GiGi aren't "in the area."
Y'all know that us "old ladies" love to be needed. (I think I was put "on the list" because I have a heavy foot.) If Olivia needed to get to Laurel in a hurry, I'm her girl!!
Anyway, we decided that we'd go (for the hundredth time) to see the old Tom Sullivan house ......or is it the Wild Bill Sullivan house? (It's just the Sullivan house and it's in Sullivan's Hollow!!) If you want to read some "make your eyes go wide southern stuff" about years ago, just Google "Sullivan's Hollow in Mississippi".
The first time I ever saw the old house, I was driving Douglas and Hilda Bynum back from a doctor's appointment, in Hattiesburg. We were coming through Collins, and Doug asked, "have you ever seen the old Sullivan house?" I hadn't .....so with Doug's directions.....off we went to find it!
Doug was a lot like my daddy ..... he seemed to know what roads to take to get wherever one wanted to go. And my lil' brother inherited that trait, too! (GPS was designed because of people like me!)
On that day, with Doug and Hilda, as Doug directed, I drove and we wandered through the country roads of Covington County and then Smith County ....and there it was !! The Sullivan House!! I was thrilled ....that first time....and every time I have seen it since. There's just so much history attached to that old house and the people who lived there or even dared to walk nearby!
I might add that Mary Cooke and I used the description of the old house in our "Travelers" book.
Yesterday afternoon Mike and I left my house, and I began driving "through the country roads of the piney woods of Smith County." Ever so often, Mike would ask....."do you know where you're going?" The answer was always, "NO!" Just because I had an idea of where it was didn't mean I knew how to get to it!
Had someone asked me "where's the Sullivan house?" my response would have had to be the customary southern expression (while pointing) "over yonder, somewhere."
I drove and drove and turned and turned, and finally, there was a road that looked familiar. All the roads seemed to be the same. In places, the branches of the old oaks formed a canopy, over the road. We passed houses that looked familiar, and we passed a church that looked familiar.
I'm not sure why, but I suddenly turned left, up a narrow country road. (There's a story about how I ALWAYS turn right ..... no matter, what!!) That is, unless I'm coming back to my OWN house, from a different direction!
That country road dead-ended into another road, and there, in front of us, sat the old Sullivan house. We had accidentally found it!!
First, Mike asked, "do you know where you are?" (I just gave him one of my best "deer in the headlights" glare.) Next, he said, "do you know how to get from here to Mize?" I replied, "I don't even know how to get back home, from here!!"
He said, "We're about 5 miles from your house and we're lost?"
Yes, we were!!
So, he took another picture of the old house (to add to all those others, in the phone camera) and I started driving. Could I have turned around and tried to retrace our trip? Probably not!! I had turned down too many little country roads! Could we have used our GPS on our phones .....well of course, but that would have been too easy!!
I reverted back to my old standard of "always turning right" when I came to an intersection. And it worked!! I got Mike to Mize, not that he necessarily wanted to go, but he HAD asked how to get there!!
It's always an adventure ....... especially when all the roads look alike!!
