Shortly after I married my husband, Verlin, people began to call us the Green Acres couple. We are polar opposites. He wears chambray shirts and I wear silk and lace. He wears boots and I always have on heels unless, of course, someone tells me not to.

An example of this was last week when a couple from our church were married in a ‘pasture’, everyone said, “Be sure and tell Travonna not to wear heels!” Even though I was reared in this community, my family did not farm. My dad raised cattle and owned a Barbershop in a larger town. I just didn’t like the outdoors that much probably because I would  blister every time I went  outside.

The Tractor Story

Verlin and I hadn’t been married too long when he asked me to help him get his semi truck out of the sand. My job was to get on the tractor, put it in gear and move it slowly until the chain that was hooked to the truck and tractor became tight.

I didn’t know how to drive a tractor so he gave me some tips, basically ‘Tractor 101.’ He said, “Now Babe, when the chain gets tight, give the tractor all it has and keep going until I tell you to stop.”  I said, “I think I can do that.” I didn’t realize until I got on the tractor that I had on red high heels and began slipping through the holes in the tractor floor.

I followed my instructions and got the big truck out of the sand. I looked back to see my husband waving at me. I waved back. Each time I looked back his waving motions became more frantic. Then it hit me…Oh, no! He wants me to stop this thing and I don’t know how. Finally, I just turned off the key. The cattle were even looking at me like I was crazy. The end result was I had driven that big tractor with the semi behind it for at least a mile.

Thank goodness Verlin has an easy going personality. He is very laid back. But when he finally reached me and the big tractor, he said “Hon, in farm language, he crossed his hands and waved them back and forth, this means stop.”