Thirty-Six

            The only thing when we went home that might be took a different way; it was three times as far around, I ask him why he did that. He said he always done that because of the Police or different people that followed him. Sometimes they would try to crowd him off the road or set up road blocks to make him stop. He said that's why he carried the gun, just in case they did get him cornered. He said other bootleggers would try to put each other out of business. Sometimes they'd use dynamite and try to blow up each other's stills or cars.

            One thing Uncle Melvin would never tell me to come along and help him or even think of doing what he was doing. He said he'd give me a ride now and then but that was it. He was good in that way with me. I guess I can be glad he was like that because at my age at that time I could of ended up in jail or been killed.

            I never knew much about my Uncle Melvin. I mean things he done or was in away from home. Only a few rides he let me go on once in a while and I knew it wouldn't of been good for him if they caught him. I know some of the rides was fast, wild ones.

            I remember one day he came home all excited at what he seen that day. The automatic transmissions where just beginning to come out and he saw one and tried it out for the first time for himself. He said he was sure gonna own one of them and that no body would catch him. But he was wrong.

            The Police sure earned their pay but they finally caught him asleep in his car one night. When he woke up every direction he looked he saw one standing with a gun trained on him. He decided he better give up. He went to reform school for one year but it straightened him out and he went to work.

            The same thing happened to brother Frank. He went straight after that too if he thought he might get caught. He still done little things. The trouble with him; he'd lose his nerve awful quick and run off and leave everything and everyone. He sure stayed in running shape and he could run.  There wasn't many times I could keep up with him.

            Uncle Melvin, he still was mad at the Police and he showed me one night in town how he jacked up on back wheel of a police car. Then he took me across the street and called them on the phone. He told them someone was being hurt or robbed at a certain place in town. Then we watch them come running out, jump in the car and not move. The wheel would just spin. They had to get there jack out, jack up the car to get the block out from under the rear end.

            He's the one that showed me how to put a half pound of sugar into the oil and a few days later they were doing a motor job on the car. Then one night one night he put five gallons of water in the gas tank of a Police car. It made them drain the tank, blow the lines out and clean the carburetor before it would run. The Police was sure mad at him and they sure knew he was back but they couldn't do anything unless they caught him and he made sure they didn't.

            He used to set roofing nails under the tires so when they started to move they'd end up with flat tires or loosen the nuts on the wheels. I think if they did catch him he'd still be in jail.