One of the many good things about my job, perhaps even the best part is all the great people I meet around the country. One such fella is a guy named Butch from clay county IL. I've been delivering herbicide to him for ten years and I have gotten to know him pretty good in that time. Every year around this time I make sure my dispatcher sends me with loads to him so I can raid his persimmon patch. His patch is but one of maybe a dozen that I hit, but it is one of the best. He has always let me harvest bow wood and whatever else is growing on his ground. He's a true gem of guy. A few years ago he asked me about maybe making a bow for his grandson. I had a nice little piece of hedge along, so over the weekend knocked out a nice little bow and gave it to him the next Monday. You would've thought I gave him a new truck. I thought it a small token of appreciation for letting me harvest stuff I didn't have at home. Well.I delivered to him today and he made sure I knew that the persimmons were ripe. I walked out back to pick some up and the patch had been cleared of honeysuckle, multiflora rose and brambles. Only the persimmon trees left standing. I'm thinking awesome! No more diggin thorns out of my hide for my persimmon habit. As I was picking up those lovely little packets of jelly known as persimmon, the guys hired hand came out and says,"so your the guy!". I said what guy? He then told me that little patch was left specifically for me! Butch made him clear all the scrub away to clean up the place, but told him not to knock down the persimmon trees because I enjoyed them so much. That may not seem like that big of a deal to most, but to me that was huge. Here's the little patch and the last persimmon I have from today's harvest. I'm saving this one to spread on my toast tomorrow morning. Man...what a cool dude! Josh
