Introductory note: A meat house is a small building in which hams and side meat were left to dry cure during the winter (back when we had consistent winters.) Our neighbors' looked a lot like an outhouse.
In the summer of '73, having just bought the upper portion of what is now our farm, we were camping out in a barn, getting to know our neighbors, exploring the land, and, in odd moments, listening to the Watergate hearings. John spent a lot of time following our neighbor Clifford around and learning from him the thousand and one things that go into a small farm with pigs, chickens, beef cattle, milk cows, and one ancient mule. One day, as the two were chatting, the subject of the hearings came up and John asked Clifford what he thought of Nixon. The answer was classic. "I wouldn't trust that man in my meat house with a muzzle!" Funny -- I find myself thinking that a lot these days . . .
