Dad & Watermelons

Dad & Watermelons

Lest y'all go through life
Lacking full watermelon knowledge
Let me enlighten you some
Of a little truth not taught in college

See, watermelons ain't just food
No Sir! There's recreation to be taught
Most of life's finest acquisitions
Are not available store-bought

Now, watermelons come with seeds which
Once in the mouth, must be discarded
But you gotta discharge properly
Seein's range and accuracy are regarded

There are two ways to score points
In a watermelon, seed-spittin' contest
One is simply by longest flight distance
T'other is by who hits the target best

I'd learned this high-skill sport
Purt' near by the time I could talk
When Dad would take me swimmin'
Out to Ol' Watermelon Rock

This tiny bit of daring rock-island
Defying flow in the middle of the Eel River
Was my well-coached, training ground
One more place my dad would love-deliver

That sorry excuse for a boulder
Was barely big enough for two
It got it's name as you might suspect
Bein' my lab for watermelon spit an' chew

We'd push our watermelon ahead
Dog-paddlin' cross the water slow
Then set it up upon the island rock
A watermelon floats ya know

That watermelon would pop open
When on the rock Dad whacked it hard
And we'd commence t' eatin' and spittin'
With accuracy our top regard

Our conversation was punctuated
By the "phfft" sound as we spat
Shiny black seeds into the river
While on Watermelon Rock we sat

I used to have a curious wonder
If any seeds took root downstream
Like my dad's insight would in me
As we played, laughed and schemed

Other times we'd just slice our melon
Out back under a huge ol' oak
Then seed-spittin' fun accompanied
Listenin' well as my dad spoke

I could always spit farther
But my dad was better at hittin' the mark
The winner was declared by Red
When he'd jump up, spin and bark

I was his favorite sidekick-spitter
Dad would tell me with a wink
Course he never spat with anyone else
He was just lovin' on me I think

To this day I love eatin' watermelon
But not the newfangled, seedless kind
Gotta have seeds for the sweetest fruit and
Best episodes with Dad back in mind

by Rik Goodell

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Jack Sorenson has nostalgic talent that takes me back to kinder, simpler times. See more of his lovely work at

https://www.jacksorensonfineart.com/