I don’t recall who thought of the idea first.
It was the kind of thing that McSwain and I both could have come up with, so maybe we shared the light bulb moment.
We were eight years old that summer and were always the first ones out the door after the pastor’s “Amen!” ended the church services on Wednesday and Sunday nights.
The Baptist church in Fitzhugh had one light bulb over the front door, and it was a congregating place for the community June bugs, who buzzed it for as long as it burned.
We noticed the June bugs had velcro-like whiskers on their legs that seemed like they should be put to some kind of good use. It was then that we remembered the hats
It was then that we remembered the hats hanging in the church vestibule.
Many of the older men of that time wore hats and would hang them on pegs in the vestibule.
The plan we developed was to plant the June bugs in selected hats. Our brief experience with June bugs led us to believe that they would grip the side of the hat for a minute, maybe two, then drop onto the waiting scalp of the wearer.
We would be innocently hanging out nearby to watch the result.
We reasoned that the most immediate response would come from a bald man, so we hung around the vestibule on a Wednesday night to make sure we knew which hat belonged to Mr. Crass.
He was the baldest man in church, and also one of the most genial.
As soon as the service was over, we dashed out and got the most active June bug we could find and put it in his hat when no one was looking.
Mr. Crass retrieved his hat and was 10 feet out the door when he did a hop-step dance and shipped off his hat.
He was relieved to see it was a June bug and not a yellowjacket walking his pate, and I think he also sensed that the June bug in his hat was somehow connected to the two boys laughing around the corner.
He was a good sport and laughed to himself as he walked off.
He also took to hanging around after church after each service and laughing to himself as McSwain and I June-bugged the entire roster of bald men in the church.