So anyway, the californy hillbilly turned 18 in 1966. He had been working after school and saving some money. He took 2 years of automechanics in high school and 6 months at the local votech after he finished high school. He was well versed in bailing wire and duct tape from his dad's brother who we all called Uncle Malarky. So he had put himself together a pretty nice 56 Chevy that could flat damn scream. He also could get the old Pontiacs, Desotos, Mercury's and whatever, running on an as needed basis. This came in handy with the moonshining. We never found out where he was making the stuff. $2.00 for a gallon, it was cheaper than beer and 1000 times the kick.
The fun really started when he wanted his own trailer on the farm. His dad and Uncle Malarky were OK with a single wide, but the californy hillbilly wanted a double wide, double tall. From Texas. Everybody said no, the county assessor would see it in the trees and want to come in and then everybody would get taxed. There was a lot of screaming and shouting and cussing, and the californy hillbilly fired up the 1946 international 2 ton flat bed and headed out to some little town in Texas that sold all sizes of trailers including my favorite, the classic triple wide. His pa yelled that he would want that flatbed truck in a week or so to get seed and fertilizer. We all knew he hadn't turned over a field in 20 years or so. He'd really get mad if you'd ask him what he was growing all those trees for.
In about a week the californy hillbilly showed up as a proud owner of one-half a double wide double tall trailer. We hadn't seen anything that new and shiney in probably our whole lifes. He took it up on the ridge and leveled off a spot with some ancient bulldozer that was so rusty and faded that nobody knew what kind it was. He borrowed some 12X12's from the railroad down by the river and we all helped him set one-half of his new home. He handed me his double barreled shotgun and told me to gaurd it until he got back.
This time he got back in 4 days. He said he didn't have to double back cause he knew where all the low bridges where. So we set the other half and had a little party. His pa, my pa and Uncle Malarky where still mad and did not come. He tapped the waterline and trenched a waterline up there and dug a pit and ran the plumbing out to it. Everybody started getting used to it and the grubby little town started talking annexation. More fun ahead.