Era el medio de January y Canutito was todo bored at the kitchen table. There was just way too much nieve allá afuera to go outside y jugar in the snow. There wasn't anything bueno en el TV except esos talk shows que no hacían make any sense to the little boy. When Grama Cuca came into la cocina and saw de que Canutito was fidgeting and squirming en la mesa, she said to him: "Deberías de join un club como los Boy Scouts of America o el 4-H Club."

Immediately Canutito perked up todo interesão. He knew que los boy scouts iban a camping trips pero it was still too cold to do that. He thought for a moment y luego he asked grama, "¿Grama, qué es el 4-H Club?"

"El 4-H Club," prefaced Grama Cuca, "es un club donde se sientan los muchachos y las muchachas a platicar."

"What good is it for boys and girls just to sit around talking?" Canutito asked Grama Cuca.

"Oh, talking is just the beginning, m'hijo," Grama Cuca said. "Cuando yo estaba young y en el 4-H, we would tener projects, sing canciones and play games. Pero first of all todos nosotros all had to memorize el 4-H pledge. Our symbol era una four-leafed clover con cuarto H's on its leaves."

"What did las 4-Hs stand for, grama?" Canutito asked her.

"Oh, m'hijo, that was a long time ago cuando yo era una 4-H Club member. Era en los 1960s … Let me see if I remember: "Yo hago pledge my Head to clearer thinking y mi Heart to greater loyalty, y mis Hands to larger service y … " Pero just at that moment, Grampo Caralampio walked into the room and he said:

"Y la final H stands for 'Hippies' porque they were all over the place en los 1960s."

"¡Mientes!" Grama Cuca shot back at him. "¡La final H stands for Health, y no por los jipis! Canutito just smiled at his grampo's joke.

"Cómo iba la 4-H song, grama?" Canutito asked her.

"See me see, m'hijo," Grama Cuca answered him, clearing her throat. En un tiempo yo hasta era una song leader junta con la Imelda y la Frances y la Lillian. La Mrs. Olguín used to teach us las canciones y el Mr. Martínez era el County Agent."

Canutito and Grampo Caralampio sat down en la mesa to listen mientras que Grama Cuca les hacía show. She picked up un hairbrush del washbasin y she held it under her nose como si fuera un microphone y she comenzó a sing:

"Oh where lies el wealth de our great New Mexico? Is it en las mountains where los pine trees grow? ¿No es silver, copper o su fertile valley land, lavado por el Río Grand? Está en los caverns abajo el desert floor o en sus high, broad ranges con vacas dotted o'er? Nada lo exalta; they are but fleeting joys. Su treasure son los girls and boys."

Here Grama Cuca got toda patriotic y comenzó marching around la cocina carried away por su own sense of loyalty al 4-H Club. She raised su voz real loud y continuó: "Con un high-ho, y forward march we go. Nosotros somos army de ten-thousand strong. El pride y love we show para Nuevo México, so canten nuestro 4-H song." She bowed as she finished mientras que Grampo Caralampio y Canutito applauded su performance.

"I didn't know que tú eras una 4-Her, Cuca," Grampo Caralampio exclaimed.

"Sí, I was!" Grama Cuca stated todavía all out of breath. "Our group was called 'Los Country Kids' and yo hasta era la historian for the club. Hasta recibí un pin por 'Baking', 'Dairy Products' y 'Automotive' un año at the annual 4-H banquet."

"Where do yo keep todos tus 4-H medals, grama?" Canutito asked her.

"Oh, I think que están in the same little box donde I keep mis medallitas y el badge del Sacred Heart," Grama Cuca replied, sitting down en la silla …

¿Le gustaría compartir sus propias anécdotas o comentar con Torres sobre esta columna? Envíele un correo electrónico a lartor@unm.edu