My Family: Chapter 49

Later that day, I called Mom at the our neighbor’s house (remember we didn’t have a phone) and asked to pick me up at aunt Belva home in Logan so I could come home. She said Dad and her would come and get me , and I was to stay at Aunt Belva's house until they got there. I don’t remember exactly how they got to Logan, but I do remember after arriving Dad left again saying he would be back with a ride and we were to stay there.  Well, we waited all day for him to come back; even Mom got tired of waiting. I talked Mom into walking, she didn’t want too, but I told her that she wouldn’t have to walk long, someone would come along and pick us up to take us home.

I was half right, we did get picked up but we were dropped off at the mouth of Rum Creek Hollow. We still had about 2 ½ more miles to go. As we started up the hollow, someone came along and we hitched a ride the rest of the way home. Dad got home about midnight, he came through the door drunk and hollering for Mom and me.

I was laying  with Mom on their bed; we were reading by an oil lamp as we had no electric lights. Shirley was now married to David and they were in the other room sleeping. Dad hollered so loud he woke everyone up but no one dared answer him. Suddenly, Mom jumped off the bed and blew out the light so he couldn’t see us. Then she ran out the back door and left me to face Dad alone.

He yelled at me to strike a match and light the lamp so he could see to beat me, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to disobey him but I didn’t want to get beaten either. So I snicked into Shirley’s bedroom and asked her what she would do if she were me. Here is what she said, ”You’re a fool if you light the lamp and just let him beat you. Mom’s no fool, she ran. Do what you want but if it was me, I’d leave.”

That’s what I did, I went out the back door and down to my girl friend’s house to stay the rest of the night. The next day, I got a ride to my Aunt Wanda’s and then went on to Aunt Hannah’s to stayed. I only went home for visits after that night.

I don't remember ever having ask Mom or Dad if I could ever go and stay with one of my Aunt's or cousin I just walked away and come back when I got home sick, sometimes I would stay for a week or month depending on how things where at home, if things were bad I would leave and show up on someone's doorstep and they always let me stay, even Aunt Eloise and she lived in Ohio, Mom and Dad would fine out where I was at, because Dad would come and get me when they wanted me home, which wasn't often.