When Grandma was still living at home, I found the Kelly Harrell album, Hand Me Down My Walking Cane buried in a cabinet. It was broken into two pieces, but of course Grandma had kept it anyway. She said it had been her favorite song when she was younger. I was curious to hear the song and figured it had been a long time since she'd been able to hear it, so when I went into town, I used the free wi-fi at Taco Box to download it. I laughed imagining my sweet Grandma singing this song.
As she walked back to the house, Jewell heard singing coming from the barn. She found Daddy on his stool in front of Butter. “Hand me down my walking cane . . .” he crooned.
“Oh hand me down my walking cane,” Jewell answered as she walked toward him.
“I’m gonna leave on that midnight train.”
“’Cause all my sins are taken away,” they sang in unison.
“Don’t let your Momma hear you singing that song,” Daddy whispered. He looked over his shoulder as though he expected to see her come through the door. “If she hears you singing that you ‘got drunk and got in jail’, we’ll both be in trouble.” He smiled and hummed as he continued milking.
--Excerpt From Maxine