I climbed onto the back of Doyle's motorcycle and he drawled, "What do you want?" with his deep country Tennessee accent. It was a game we played, I'd name a fruit - say, a peach - and off we'd go. I was zooming down the dirt roads of McNairy County with a teenaged neighbor who was helping us build our house at the farm. "The farm" was 100 wooded acres in McNairy County, Tennessee - a few miles outside of Bethel Springs, close to Purdy, in the county run by legendary sheriff Buford Pusser, his life later featured in the movie "Walking Tall". It was in the late 60's and I was in early high school.
That day we found peaches, berries, and a watermelon. Doyle picked the watermelon from Major Hill's garden and I held onto it as we headed off to the swimming hole. When we got there, he hoisted it above his head and slammed it onto the ground - breaking it apart into self-serve portions. All the kids came out of the pond and grabbed a piece, lowering their faces into the watermelon and wolfing it down. Afterwards, we all jumped into the pond to wash off the watermelon mess.
Prior to that, I'd only approached watermelon sliced and served on a plate with a fork, and I'd done most of my swimming in what Doyle referred to as a "mortar-bottom" pool.
