Old Ben’s Bonnet

Every year just before Easter, Gramma would take my mom, Edna, and my Aunt Vi to get their Easter bonnets. Grampa would hitch up the only horse they had, Old Ben, to the one seater buggy, so the three girls could go over to Ethel, a small town near by, to shop. It was always a fun trip for the little girls. By the way, my Aunt was a couple of years older than my mom and always hated being referred as "the little girl". After searching for just the right bonnet for each of them, they would always stop by Aunt Sarah's to visit and hove tea before heading back home. While Gramma was saying her goodbyes to Aunt Sarah, mom jumped up in the buggy, Aunt Vi unhooked the leads and with that Old Ben decided he was ready to head for home and took off running. Mom was scared to death and screaming her head off because she couldn't get him to stop. The only thing that stopped his progress was the gate; Ben could get through, but the buggy couldn't ... We think Old Ben decided he wanted the bonnets for himself.