There was an incident that happened during the 1963 Wallins Creek flood that helped to shape my life in a very positive way. I am not proud of this incident, but I feel the story needs to be told.
One day while the flood cleanup process was still going on in Wallins, a close friend and I made a trip to Harlan. I don't remember why we went, but I speculate that we wanted to get away from the mess that we had at home. His house, which was in the same flood plain as mine, had also gone through the worst of the flooding. I'm sure we thought that we needed a break. Anyway, after taking in all the sights, we went into the A&P store. I don't know what possessed us to do this, but we got caught shoplifting. Of all things to take, we took some chip dip. Yes, you heard me correctly, "Chip Dip." I guess by this selection we unconsiously indicated that we weren't hardened criminals. I guess the store management didn't get this message.
What followed was both funny and little scary. A store employee held us while the police were called. When the policeman arrived, we were taken outside. He had us turn and place our hands on a wall while he frisked us. While this was taking place, there were people passing by. This only added to our embarassment. He then told us that we were going to walk to the jail. He warned us that if we tried to run, "He would blow our legs off." After he said this and we noted the huge pistol on his side, that thought did not occur to us; I assure you.
The officer marched us to the Harlan County Jail. When we arrived, we were taken upstairs to one of the cells. He opened the door and placed us in the cell. There were five inmates. All were adults, and by their appearance we immediately determined that we probably didn't move in the same social circle as they. Not knowing what else to do, I sat down on a vacant lower bunk. I was informed rather forcefully by one of the inmates that I was sitting on his bed. "No problem," I said, not realizing that I had just violated cell etiquette. I also determined by evaluating my current situation, that Harlan County apparently did not see any contradiction with placing juveniles and adults together. Actually, staying alive was my more immediate concern. One thing "Old Lightning" did know, however, was to put my back against a wall. Must be some kind of caged animal instinct.
We were treated to lunch during our stay. Having not seen the menu, we discovered the fare was limited when our lunch arrived. The main course was Hominy. I didn't like it before and I sure haven't eaten any since. To this day, whenever I see hominy, I remember my visit to the Harlan County Jail.
We spent four hours in jail, before my Mom got us released. I was so happy to see her, I think I kissed her before I kissed the ground outside the cell. I also vowed that this would be my last view from the inside of a jail cell. I can assure you that I have made good on this vow. Actually as it turns out, I have been responsible for helping others to experience the view from inside a jail cell. Hopefully some of them had the same life changing experience that I had.
So, as you can see, a stupid childish decision resulted in a very positive character lesson for my life. I haven't discussed this in detail with my friend, but it obviously made an impact on his life. He currently is a practicing attorney in Kentucky.
