A few years ago, after the Choctaw Labor Day festival Monday
morning ceremonies, my mom, Lynda Kay, and I got to chat with Chief Pyle for a
few minutes. It turned into a time of swapping stories.
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| Lynda Kay with Chief Pyle |
When we told him our ancestors were the Robucks who had
owned Robuck Lake in Grant, Oklahoma, Chief Pyle started in on a story from his
youth.
He and his buddies often fished and swam in the lake. The
water moccasins were aggressive there. One night, they took a boat out to fish
and a handgun for protection against the snakes.
Sure enough, a water moccasin slithered right into their
boat and in a panic, his friend shot off several rounds. Though it was enough
to scare off the snake, the friend missed actually hitting it.
The bullets did go to some use though. They punctured enough
holes in the boat to begin sinking it. The boys half paddled, half swam it—and
themselves—back to shore.
One of the boys’ dads wasn’t happy with them. It was his
boat that sat on the shore, full of holes.
Chief Pyle didn’t say what happened to them after that, but
I imagine it topped the ordeal itself.
Why don’t you share a
story from your youth with someone today?
