My Family: Chapter 43

For all the grief I thought Shirley gave me while growing up: not sharing her shoes, beating me up, and telling on me; she did save my life once.

I loved going to the movies, but I was never allowed to go alone, Shirley always had to go with me. When we went to the movies there always seem to be a few boys and girls walking home which was about four miles. I would laugh and have fun with the boys and Shirley would be walking a paces behind me and the other girls saying she was going to tell on me but I knew she wouldn't.

This one time a boy drove by us and asked all of us if we wanted a ride. He had two other boys in the car with him. The group of kids we’re with consisted of five girls and about four or five boys. Everybody said yes including myself.  Shirley refuses. The driver said he would take us all home but first he had to go into Dehue first to drop off the boys he had in the car. After the my group climbs aboard, it was overflowing with teenagers; on the hood, the running board, and  inside the car there was four up front with some boys sitting on the windows with half of their bodies sticking out.

Shirley wouldn't let me get in the car no matter how much we all beg her, her excuse was the car was too full and the driver was going to have an accident. They left without us and in the pitch dark we walked home with me fussing the whole way. By the time we got in front of our house, we met some of our friends who said the driver had an accident before they got to Dehue and some of the kids had to go to the hospital in Logan. All Shirley would say was “I told you so.”  I humbly agreed.