to be a mighty true sign cause I notices it very closely."

"Den dey used to say, too, if you get up in de mornin feelin in a good
humor, de devil sho gwine get you fore night fall dat same day. Cose I
don' pay so much attention to dat. If I get up feelin like singin, I has
to sing cause it my time to sing, I say."

"Let me see, dere another one of dem omen dat I had shake up in my mind
to tell you. Say, if you see a ground mole rootin round your house, it
won' be long fore you gwine move from dat place. But I don' never see
no ground moles hardly dese days. Don' think dey worries nobody much."

"I recollects, too, way back yonder de people used to say, if you see de
smoke comin out de chimney en turn down en flatten out on de ground, it
a sign of rain in a few days."

"Yes, mam, I think bout dis one more. If you dream bout you be travelin
en come to a old rotten down buildin, it a sign of a old person death.
Don' say whe' it a man or a woman, but it a sho sign dat a old person
gwine die."

"Den people what lives in de country believes, if a fox comes round a
house barkin en a scratchin, it a sign dey gwine lose somebody out dey
family. Yes'um, de fox just comes right out de woods up to de yard en
barks. You see, a dog won' never run a fox dat comes bout dem barkin.
No, mam, when de dog hear dat, he just stands right under de house en
growls at de fox. I know dat be a true sign cause us tried dat one."

"Now, I got another one of dem thought comin. Yes, my Lord, I hear talk
dat if you get de broom en sweep your house out fore sunrise, you would
sweep your friends out right wid de trash. Dat used to be a big sign wid
de people, too. En it bad luck to take up ashes after de sun go down,
dey say. Yes, I know bout plenty people won' do dat today."

"Well, honey, seems like when I calls back, de people in a worser fix
den when I used to get 25 cents a day. Used to could take dat en go to a
country store en get a decent dress to wear to church. Sell peck of us
corn en get it in trade. Didn' never pay more den 50 cents for a load of
wood in dem days en I remembers just as good eggs been sell for 10 cents
a dozen en 15 cents bout Christmas time. Cose I ain' exactly decided
what to speak bout de times cause it dis way to my mind. De people, dey
have a better privilege dis day en time, but dey don' appreciate nothin
like dey did back in my dark days. Yes, mam, de people was more thankful
to man en God den dey is dese days.