THORNS - GRANDPA’S GLASS PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES (Part 10)
Welcome back to Part 10 of the Grandpa’s Glass Series.
In case you are new here, I am sharing some stories behind the photos of my Grandpa’s Glass series. If you missed any of those posts, they are linked below. But, today, I want to share a family story about Grandpa, a cocklebur, and how they became a part of Grandpa’s story.
The Story
There is family lore surrounding an event in which my Grandpa and his brother-in-law, Finis T. Bartlett, were party to a bet that included a gun, a cocklebur, a target, and a shooter.
© SuZan Alexander, Shootin’ the Claw in the Crease. Digital Photography.
Apparently, Grandpa was quite an accurate marksman in his day. A challenge was issued for Grandpa to shoot, in William Tell style, not an apple, but a cocklebur from the top of Finis’s head.
What makes this even more extraordinary is the gun he used. My Uncle recently shared that the gun was a Stevens Crack Shot rifle that was cobbled together with rubber bands, had no real sighting for accuracy, and Grandpa actually fired using his middle finger rather than the customary index finger.
Thankfully, there were no injuries and the bet was a success.
The Photo
While this is just one of many stories, the small cocklebur is the ingredient that gives this story its value for re-telling. Thorny plants are part of the Texas landscape and a large part of this story. I chose to represent the tale with another thorny plant, commonly referred to as Devil’s Claws, as well as many other names.
© SuZan Alexander, The Trio of Hades. Digital Photography.
These Devil’s Claws are prevalent in the western area of Texas. I have no doubt, as a farmer, Grandpa dealt with these thorns as much as the cocklebur.
The thorns are representatives of this story, but they are also symbolic of sin, sorrow, and hardship which are also no strangers to his story.
I hope you will come back next Wednesday when I share another story from this series of images. If you are enjoying these behind-the-scene stories, please consider becoming one of the “Insiders”. You can sign up below and receive a copy of “The Stories Behind 7 of My Favorite Images”.
As always, thank you for joining me on this adventure.
