Moniker

Before coming up with a name for our Homestead, I hadn’t given much thought about coming up with a moniker that would set our place apart from all the other places around us. I was mostly looking for a name that would fit us. And after many ideas for a name, I finally settled with One Horse Homestead. I got the idea from a song that has the words “One Horse Town” in it. One Horse Homestead fits us good, I think. Our homestead is small and insignificant, and we do all the work with one horse (an X570 John Deere Lawn and Garden Tractor).


One Horse Homestead fits our whole property. Maybe someday our Homestead will grow into something bigger, and we could still keep the moniker One Horse Homestead. I don’t expect to ever be fortunate enough to graduate up to a Farm or Ranch.

Alan Jackson - Little Man (Official Music Video) - YouTube

I remember walkin' 'round the court square sidewalk
Lookin' in windows at things I couldn't want
There's Johnson's hardware and Morgan's jewelry
And the ol' Lee king's apothecary
They ware the little man
The little man

I go back now and the stores are all empty
Except for an old coke sign from 1950
Boarded up like they never existed
Or renovated and called historic districts
There goes the little man
There goes the little man

Now the court square's just a set of streets
That the people go round but they seldom think
Bout the little man that built this town
Before the big money shut em down
And killed the little man
Oh the little man

He pumped your gas and he cleaned your glass
And one cold rainy night he fixed your flat
The new stores came where you do it yourself
You buy a lotto ticket and food off the shelf
Forget the little man
Forget about that little man

He hung on there for a few more years
But he couldn't sell slurpees
And he wouldn't sell beer
Now the bank rents the station
To a down the road
And sell velvet Elvis and
Second-hand clothes
There goes little man
There goes another little man

Now the court square's just a set of streets
That the people go round but they seldom think
Bout the little man that built this town
Before the big money shut em down
And killed the little man
Oh the little man

Now the stores are lined up in a concrete strip
You can buy the world with just one trip
And save a penny 'cause it's jumbo size
They don't even realize
They're killin' the little man
Oh the little man

Now the court square's just a set of streets
That the people go round but they seldom think
Bout the little man that built this town
Before the big money shut em down
And killed the little man
Oh the little man

It wasn't long when I was a child
An old black man came with his mule and his plow
He broke the ground where we grew our garden
Back before we'd all forgot about the little man
The little man
Long live the little man
God bless the little man

Songwriters: Alan Eugene Jackson

Little Man lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

I remember walkin' 'round the court square sidewalk
Lookin' in windows at things I couldn't want
There's Johnson's hardware and Morgan's jewelry
And the ol' Lee king's apothecary
They ware the little man
The little man

I go back now and the stores are all empty
Except for an old coke sign from 1950
Boarded up like they never existed
Or renovated and called historic districts
There goes the little man
There goes the little man

Now the court square's just a set of streets
That the people go round but they seldom think
Bout the little man that built this town
Before the big money shut em down
And killed the little man
Oh the little man

He pumped your gas and he cleaned your glass
And one cold rainy night he fixed your flat
The new stores came where you do it yourself
You buy a lotto ticket and food off the shelf
Forget the little man
Forget about that little man

He hung on there for a few more years
But he couldn't sell slurpees
And he wouldn't sell beer
Now the bank rents the station
To a down the road
And sell velvet Elvis and
Second-hand clothes
There goes little man
There goes another little man

Now the court square's just a set of streets
That the people go round but they seldom think
Bout the little man that built this town
Before the big money shut em down
And killed the little man
Oh the little man

Now the stores are lined up in a concrete strip
You can buy the world with just one trip
And save a penny 'cause it's jumbo size
They don't even realize
They're killin' the little man
Oh the little man

Now the court square's just a set of streets
That the people go round but they seldom think
Bout the little man that built this town
Before the big money shut em down
And killed the little man
Oh the little man

It wasn't long when I was a child
An old black man came with his mule and his plow
He broke the ground where we grew our garden
Back before we'd all forgot about the little man
The little man
Long live the little man
God bless the little man

Songwriters: Alan Eugene Jackson

Little Man lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

Stuck

 I mentioned in previous posts that we do not have the money to build this land into a working homestead just yet. We don’t live on this land yet. During the winter months we seldom visit this acreage. But we decided to visit it on March 2, 2019. I should have known better, but I pushed my luck anyway, when I decided to drive the truck to the far-back-end of the property. All went well, until I tried to turn the truck (GMC 1500) around. The truck got stuck in the water-soaked ground, and the more I tried to rock the truck the deeper all four wheels sank into the ground. Fortunately, I had the commonsense to stop trying to get the truck unstuck. If I had buried the wheels, it would surely have been much worse.


My wife and I walked to a nearby neighbor to ask for assistance. Before we got to his front porch, he (the young man) opened his front door and walked out and greeted us. I explained to him what happened and asked him if he could help us. Without hesitation, he said he would try.  He had a Toyota four-wheel drive pickup. I wasn’t sure his small truck would be able to do the job. But it did.

After he pulled us out, I offered to pay him. He would not take any money. He was a great blessing to my wife and me, more than he will ever know. It is difficult to find people like him these days who are willing to help.


I don’t know if it was the embarrassment, or what. I know I should not have driven into the homestead in the first place. It was very foolish of me. But, somehow, I feel traumatized by the experience. I really hope this hopeless feeling will soon fade. You see, I don’t have any family at all to turn to for help. My immediate family are all died. My wife’s family all live in the Philippines. And whenever an emergency arises, she and I are on our own. We don’t have anyone to turn to for help.


I sure do hope this rain slows down so the ground can start to dry out.


Thanks for reading my ramblings. Blessings…