Do you know what? We had to live on a dirt street! The sand blew all the time in Borger. No WPA brick streets where we lived; just dirt roads except downtown where the shoe store was that MartinLuther worked at. [Remember everyone had two names and they were said real fast together.] Kids could work back then. Rain came down in torrents and the loudest thunder I had ever heard. I ran like crazy and jumped in bed with my mama and daddy and looked up at the picture of Jesus with sheep on the wall next to their bed. They always told me that Jesus was a shepherd but we didn’t have any sheep. I knew I was safe with Mama and Daddy, and Jesus.
It snowed in Borger. Borger is in the panhandle, northwest part of Texas. In the winter the wind and snow blew down all the way from up in Canada. Mercy it was cold. But that’s OK ‘cause I stayed inside where it was warm and besides, I had the mumps. We lived right next door to the church and on Sunday morning and night I could hear Mama playing the piano while the people sang,
“What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms!
What blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms!”
Sometimes I cried because I wanted to see my mama. The mumps got over and sunshiny spring came. I went back to church again and my older brother, MartinLuther, liked to sit with Mama on the second seat while Daddy preached. The only thing is he always went to sleep and put his head on Mama’s lap. He was about 15-16 years old.
One day, Mama got sick and was about to throw-up. I got in her way and she tried to push me out of the way. Both of us made it to the back porch where the hand-cranked washing machine was. All of a sudden sshwhooosh-kuwawsch-urrupt vomit went all over me. As a 4 year old, I didn’t care – I laughed, but my mama and Daddy and NanthaLee, my sister, just felt awful. Continue reading “Sinking Sand/Solid Rock – Borger # 3”
Write It On My Heart 