Now I’m not the brightest person in the family. A bit slow, older and with some ugliness, but I was loved when I was young and energetic. Now I stand out at family parties and gatherings, way out, in back, and sometimes I am even covered with a tarp.
When invitations are sent out for anything, like a dance or a picnic or a wedding or a church meeting, the first thing people will ask is: Will “He” be there?, They want to know before they will accept the invitation. My half brother is the only one that doesn’t have an objection to me being present. My half brother always has a grin on his face and each eye is looking in a different direction while the corners of his mouth curls up and he drools down over his chin. When you ask him what his name is, he will reach into his pocket and get his Social Security card, and then show it to the person that is asking!
My half brother ( what’s his name) never got to go to school until he was potty trained and that was at age seventeen. Once he got into the girls out house and he wouldn’t come out, they had to use an old mule in harness to pull him out, but he hung on to the side of the door and the out house tipped over. “Boy”. was the teacher ever mad, she didn’t even have time to pull up her bloomers. Well, after that they wouldn’t even let him out of the barn, with out a chain holding him. He was my best friend, so I would take the chain off of him and we would go up in the hills to spend the day. He never did have any shoes, they were always worn out before they could be handed down to him. But he could run faster barefooted than I could with shoes on my feet. His well worn overhauls, were really short, just below his knees.
One time. when we were up in those hills, we saw smoke and thought the forest was burning. We ran over ridges and creeks, down across ,valleys, up steep hills to find and put out the fire. But when we got to the fire, there was a camp fire under this big kettle with some bad smelling stuff boiling in it. We were trying to put out the fire, when this old grandma person came at us waving her broom. We didn’t know it, but she was laundry in the kettle.
We were up in them hills another time and ran into this girl who live farther back in the hills with her family. We thought she was lost and was going to rescue her, but she kicked and scratched and used some really bad words on us. Now I never heard them before and didn’t know what they meant, but the made me blush. She was a hollering and screaming and the next thing we knew, bullets were coming for all directions. My half brother was trying to tell them that we thought she was lost and wanting to help her, But he stuttered so much no one knew what he was saying.
They strung us up between some trees and the youngon's would through sticks and rocks at us. It didn’t take long before everyone in that valley were there. They were going to hang us and then decide if we were guilty or not. But the girl took a fancy to my half brother and wouldn’t let them do it. Well, that night, when they were all sleeping, the girl came and cut us lose. We ran as fast as we could, not knowing what direction we were going and must have traveled fifty miles. We found a cave that could give us some shelter for the night and went to sleep, hungry and tired. The morning came and the sun came up so we knew what direction to go. But hadn’t we just came from that way to get away from those people that wanted to hang us, Maybe if we went the long way around we would miss them.
A day and a night later, we heard people talking. Some guys were busy around a fire and there was no way to get around them. Around mid afternoon, all but one man left at the camp, the other men was just setting there. About a hour later, there were men every where with guns and loud speakers and dogs. We were trapped. They said: they had caught us working that still. Off we go, with the one guy that was guilty. We spent some time in a cell behind bars, and then came the day for the judge to see us. He looked at me and ask my name. I was scared and shaking so bad, I couldn’t talk and I fainted. Then he looks at my half brother and ask his name. he reaches into his pocket and takes out his Social Security card, and hands it to the jailer and he hands it to the judge. My half brother just stands there with a grin on his face. It wasn’t long before the judge tells them to take my half brother to the funny farm and then he turns his attention back to me.
As for myself, I know very little about life and what goes on in this world, don’t know how to read or write, I understand eat and sleep and how it feels to hurt. Some one, a Social worker, had been talking to me, but I have no idea of what she is saying. Some thing about God, Country and legal words that made me smile. There is no one that believes my story and the Social worked has wrote it all, on paper.
The Judge said: I am a cheat, a bad influence, a trouble maker. and un-American. And I was trying to impersonate a model citizen. He said I was a whisky maker of the worst kind. He was going to sentence me the same as he sentences all Idiots.
The warden came to talk with me and gave me a choice of food, for a last meal. He says I am going away in the morning, but couldn’t tell me where! I hope they have a good cook there as I really miss Momma’s cooking and I love to eat. I understand that my half brother is really happy where he is, and they can’t get him to leave.
If you are going to school, stay there. Read all the books and look at all the pictures, Try hard to get through the third grade, as it is really important to get an education.
I’ll be home soon momma. I Love you………..
By; Ben R.
1/25.2011
When invitations are sent out for anything, like a dance or a picnic or a wedding or a church meeting, the first thing people will ask is: Will “He” be there?, They want to know before they will accept the invitation. My half brother is the only one that doesn’t have an objection to me being present. My half brother always has a grin on his face and each eye is looking in a different direction while the corners of his mouth curls up and he drools down over his chin. When you ask him what his name is, he will reach into his pocket and get his Social Security card, and then show it to the person that is asking!
My half brother ( what’s his name) never got to go to school until he was potty trained and that was at age seventeen. Once he got into the girls out house and he wouldn’t come out, they had to use an old mule in harness to pull him out, but he hung on to the side of the door and the out house tipped over. “Boy”. was the teacher ever mad, she didn’t even have time to pull up her bloomers. Well, after that they wouldn’t even let him out of the barn, with out a chain holding him. He was my best friend, so I would take the chain off of him and we would go up in the hills to spend the day. He never did have any shoes, they were always worn out before they could be handed down to him. But he could run faster barefooted than I could with shoes on my feet. His well worn overhauls, were really short, just below his knees.
One time. when we were up in those hills, we saw smoke and thought the forest was burning. We ran over ridges and creeks, down across ,valleys, up steep hills to find and put out the fire. But when we got to the fire, there was a camp fire under this big kettle with some bad smelling stuff boiling in it. We were trying to put out the fire, when this old grandma person came at us waving her broom. We didn’t know it, but she was laundry in the kettle.
We were up in them hills another time and ran into this girl who live farther back in the hills with her family. We thought she was lost and was going to rescue her, but she kicked and scratched and used some really bad words on us. Now I never heard them before and didn’t know what they meant, but the made me blush. She was a hollering and screaming and the next thing we knew, bullets were coming for all directions. My half brother was trying to tell them that we thought she was lost and wanting to help her, But he stuttered so much no one knew what he was saying.
They strung us up between some trees and the youngon's would through sticks and rocks at us. It didn’t take long before everyone in that valley were there. They were going to hang us and then decide if we were guilty or not. But the girl took a fancy to my half brother and wouldn’t let them do it. Well, that night, when they were all sleeping, the girl came and cut us lose. We ran as fast as we could, not knowing what direction we were going and must have traveled fifty miles. We found a cave that could give us some shelter for the night and went to sleep, hungry and tired. The morning came and the sun came up so we knew what direction to go. But hadn’t we just came from that way to get away from those people that wanted to hang us, Maybe if we went the long way around we would miss them.
A day and a night later, we heard people talking. Some guys were busy around a fire and there was no way to get around them. Around mid afternoon, all but one man left at the camp, the other men was just setting there. About a hour later, there were men every where with guns and loud speakers and dogs. We were trapped. They said: they had caught us working that still. Off we go, with the one guy that was guilty. We spent some time in a cell behind bars, and then came the day for the judge to see us. He looked at me and ask my name. I was scared and shaking so bad, I couldn’t talk and I fainted. Then he looks at my half brother and ask his name. he reaches into his pocket and takes out his Social Security card, and hands it to the jailer and he hands it to the judge. My half brother just stands there with a grin on his face. It wasn’t long before the judge tells them to take my half brother to the funny farm and then he turns his attention back to me.
As for myself, I know very little about life and what goes on in this world, don’t know how to read or write, I understand eat and sleep and how it feels to hurt. Some one, a Social worker, had been talking to me, but I have no idea of what she is saying. Some thing about God, Country and legal words that made me smile. There is no one that believes my story and the Social worked has wrote it all, on paper.
The Judge said: I am a cheat, a bad influence, a trouble maker. and un-American. And I was trying to impersonate a model citizen. He said I was a whisky maker of the worst kind. He was going to sentence me the same as he sentences all Idiots.
The warden came to talk with me and gave me a choice of food, for a last meal. He says I am going away in the morning, but couldn’t tell me where! I hope they have a good cook there as I really miss Momma’s cooking and I love to eat. I understand that my half brother is really happy where he is, and they can’t get him to leave.
If you are going to school, stay there. Read all the books and look at all the pictures, Try hard to get through the third grade, as it is really important to get an education.
I’ll be home soon momma. I Love you………..
By; Ben R.
1/25.2011
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