Two littles girls adventure across town

One summer morning two little girls were playing outside on the lush green grass that was covered with clover while bees buzzed all around and they said to one another let us go to town.

Downtown Sheffield was within walking distance for the two girls for they had walked to town many times with their parents, but on this special day, they felt they could do it without them.

So, the two little girls, (ages six and seven)washed their faces, combed their long curly red and yellow hair, pulling their hair back into a ponytail, dressing in their new red and white short sets and putting their shoes on their feet because the streets would be too hot for bare feet.

It was a beautiful bright sunny day when the two little girls began walking up SW 13th street, they crossed west Montgomery onto Shop Pike, where they could walk along the sidewalks that lined the streets.

The two girls played a game” step on a crack, break your mothers back” as they tried to avoid the lines, cracks and the humps on the sidewalk.

When the sidewalks were laid, many years before, the trees were small as they grew so did their roots causing the sidewalks to bulge and crack. 

Shop Pike ran into north Montgomery Avenue, which leads into downtown Sheffield. Before the girls could enter downtown, they had to cross the Southern railroad tracks that ran east and west of West Montgomery Avenue.

The girls looked both ways before they crossed the train tracks because the train tracks became very busy when trains carrying freight cars came barreling down the tracks.

Sometimes there would be trains coming from both east and west at the same time.

When a train came across the tracks that led into town it took at least twenty to thirty minutes.

When our family would drive into town we would wait patiently in the car for the train to pass, and when we saw the red caboose we knew it was the end of the train and we would begin to sing:

“Little Red Caboose, Little Red Caboose, behind the train, the train.

Smokestack on it’s back, going down the track. 

Little Red Caboose behind the train. 

Woo-woo-woo!”

The two little girls were excited as they walked down north Montgomery Street without their parents tagging along.

They felt all grown up as they walked into their first store, which was a furniture store.

The two girls started to look around, they even walked upstairs to the second level as they looked at the furniture, pretending they were shopping. 

A salesman came up to the two little girls and said, where are your parents and the two little girls said ever so boldly they are shopping. The salesman gave both the little girls a bright yellow pencil as they were leaving the store. 

Down the street, the little girls skipped, ever so exciting to be shopping, without their parents saying you cannot have that.

They went from store to store, and they stopped at Western Auto to look at the baby dolls wrapped in pink and blue blankets.

At Abrom’s they saw dresses hanging on racks, in shades of brown, with pleats, covered in tan lace and large sashes attached to the backs of the dresses, they saw red checked dresses that buttoned down the front, blue and white striped sailor dresses that would be ever so cute to wear to school to show off to the other students.

Oh, how they wished they had the money to buy one of those dresses, but they were penniless.

Abrom’s was THE store shop, everyone with money came here to shop.

Abrom’s had two levels with a staircase that led to the upper level, it had tub carriers, a machine much like the banks use today at their drive-through windows, where they would send their tickets up to and downstairs, which was fun to watch. 

At the five and dime, the girls spent a long time looking, because they were many bends filled full of trinkets of all shapes and sizes that you could purchase for just ten cents.

The stomachs of the two little girls began to growl so they stopped at the Liberty Super Market for an ice cream sandwich and a box of cookies.

The girls had now completely walked through every store in Sheffield, but the day was still young and they were not ready to return home. 

The two little girls continued walking up north Montgomery Avenue, they turned left onto Alabama Avenue and continued walking until they reached the Tennessee River. 

The older little girl’s family owned a boat that they had docked many times at Riverfront Park. 

The Tennessee River holds many dangerous drop-offs from the water's edge, which these two little girls knew, so they stayed close to the edge, as they waded into the water just to cool off their feet making sure that they did not get their clothes wet.

The streetlight guided the girls as they began their journey home.

On their trip into town, the girls were given yellow pencils by the salesman at the furniture.

The girls thought the yellow pencil was ugly so they swapped the yellow pencils for bright purple, pink and white pencils. 

The girls also, put small girls slip into a shoebox at the five and dime.

The sun was shining brightly that day, so they each put on a pair of sunglasses.

Before the girls reached home they buried the sunglasses, and little girls slip at the end of the street where their grandparents lived. 

They began walking to their grandparent's house, only to be greeted by two very unhappy parents.

The two little girls told a lie, they said they had spent the day at a friends house, but their parents knew different because they had made a mistake, they had stopped at an aunts house to visit before they walked to the Tennessee River. 

Both girls received a whipping and were taken home.

Weeks, later the girls claimed to discover the items they had taken at the end of the street. 

Their parents never knew the difference until years later when the older girl told her mother the story about their trip to town, their visits to the many stores, and them taking all the items that they had found at the end of the street.

1962~ The Battle of Shiloh April 6-8, 1862

1962~ The Battle of  Shiloh April 6-8, 1862 

The Battle of Shiloh:

The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. 

A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing on the West bank of the river. 

Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard launched a surprise attack on Grant there.

Summer of 1962, our family attended the one hundred years Centennial of the Battle of Shiloh. 

We were vacationing in Savannah, Tennessee with my dad's friends Ronnie and Maria Cornelius.

Ronnie’s parents lived in Savannah within walking distance of the Shiloh Battle Field where the

Reenactment of the Battle of Shiloh was taking place.
Ronnie, Maria, and their children were staying with Ronnie's parents.

From the Cornelius home we could the Merchants (Sutlers)setting up tents with period style-goods to sell to the reenacts and the public. 

There were men dressed as Union and Confederate Soldiers getting ready to engage in battle.

We were amazed, as we watched the cannons and rifles being fired, during the reenactment

The smell of gunfire (burning power)and black smoke filled the air. The battle raged on men were dying, bodies covered the ground, what an awful sight, death.
We walked back to the Cornelius house and dad was ready to return to our vacation campsite on the Tennessee River.

We had arrived in Shiloh in dad's new Blue Dodge pick-up truck, pulling our red and white nine-seater outboard motorboat.

The bed of the truck was filled with eight kids, water-skis, orange life jackets, swimsuits, extra clothes, food, and water.

We had come prepared to swim, fish and camp on the Tennessee River.
We had brought a large green military tent for all our belongings and a place for all of us to sleep.

Dad and Ronnie had put out trot-lines early that morning and by late that afternoon 
they had caught enough catfish to cook for dinner.

After dad and Ronnie had cleaned all the catfish they built a roaring fire.

Mom had a cast iron pot with a handle, and the pot was hung over the hot roaring fire.

Mom would fill the cast iron pot full of Mazola oil when the oil was boiling

she would drop in the catfish. 

While the oil was still hot, mom would make hush-puppies and drop them one by one into the pot.
She stopped cooking hush-puppies when there was enough for the family.

In preparation for our upcoming meal, we would cover the picnic tables with a white sheet.

We would sat-out paper plates, forks, napkins, cups, catchup, tartar sauce and cups for ice tea.

We had purchased a cooler full of ice at the local store.

The kids would retreat back into the Tennessee River until dark, leaving mom to do all the cleaning up after dinner.

It would be way after nine when we headed to the tent and would fall onto our palates (a place for us to sleep.

We would be awakened by the buzzing and vampires mosquitos that left red blotches everywhere on us.

Insect repellent was the most.

We were invited to eat Sunday dinner with the Cornelius family.

Mrs. Cornelius had prepared cornbread, meatloaf, fried potatoes, white beans, corn and apple cake for dessert.

Our vacation was eating catfish, camping, skiing and swimming on the Tennessee River and the reenactment of the Battle of Shiloh.

My least favorite thing about our vacation was the vampire mosquitoes.

Growing up

Growing up 

We grew up in the country and two of my siblings and I went to a country school.

When we moved to the city, my siblings attended Brandon Elementary School and some attended the free Maud Lindsey Kindergarten.

My first and second-grade teacher was Mrs. Jones

She would start every morning by having the class recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag and then we would say a prayer.

Mrs. Jones had a word wheel that was full of beginner words that we practiced every day.

Our first readers were the Dick, Jane, and Sally Series.

Look, Dick, look, look, see Spot run.

Help, help, said Sally.

The best time of the school day was when our teacher released us to go outside, that is when all that built-up energy exploded into fun.

We would jump, run, hop, skip, and swing, no matter what the weather, hot, cold, snowing, raining, or even when the sun was shining brightly.

When the teacher called us to return inside, our energy was still boiling.

We would come running, all the while the teacher would be saying, DON’T RUN!

I can still remember that tragic day when my best friend and I came running into the building after being told to not run.

We were the last ones in line at the water fountain, and I can still remember how great, that cold water tasted.

The water only slowed us down for a few seconds, as down the hall we ran.

I was suddenly stopped, not by a teacher, but by a door, for I had run straight into the latch of the lunchroom door.

The next thing I knew I was on the floor blood running down my face.

I was taken to the first aid room, where a bandage was applied to a gash, which was above my left eyebrow.

You would have thought that an accident would have slowed me down, but think again.

  

As children growing up in the country, we had to make our own fun, and we had a very vivid imagination, our horses were made of sticks, and our boyfriends, were characters from the television shows that we watched.

A big screen tubed television set in a wooden cabinet, playing the black and white shows was our first.

We watched many westerns Gun Smoke, Bonanza, Have Gun Will Travel, and Maverick. My favorite show, which was not a western, was Adventures in Paradise.

Everyone detested the nights we had to watch the president make his speech because he was on every channel.

To get better reception, my dad had brought home a power line pole that he put our antenna on.

The Power pole had spikes staggering up it, which allowed him to walk up to the top.

My dad had to use a ladder to get to the first set of spikes, not sure if this was to keep us from climbing to the top or not.

When we were not watching television, we were outside, which was most of the time.

There were just a few neighborhood kids that lived nearby, that were close to our ages.

My friend, who was an only child, lived down the road from us with her parents, her grandparents lived next door, and her grandmother was Cherokee Indian.

My friend's parents had several detached buildings scattered around their home.

One of those buildings contained a variety of discarded bags of clothes, hats, purses, and shoes. 

We would go inside this building and dig through each bag, trying on different dresses, shoes, and hats, to find just the right one, that we would wear that day.

Our imaginations would take us to faraway places.

As, I would find myself, aboard a large schooner with Gardner McKay, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

A storm would be brewing, and our boat would be rocking back and forth, as the waves tossed us to and fore, which did not matter because I was standing to next a dark-skinned, browned-eyed, the man with his brown hair blowing in the wind.

We could always smell food cooking, coming from my friend's grandmother’s kitchen, and when she opened that screen door holding a plate of sugar cookies, we knew it was time for a break.

Her grandmother would call us and say, I have hot cookies and some fresh milk, and we would come running.

The older we got the more adventurous we became.

We played all the time in the forest but were told not to go near HORSESHOE BLUFF.

For some reason, we did not listen, and off we would go, walking along the cliffs and climbing down very tall trees to get to the base of the bluff.

We loved to watch the cascading waterfall, as we walked into the inclining bluff.

Such an enticing, dangerous place, where creatures could hide.

We could pretend to be cowgirls or Indian girls, that we're free to play wherever their hearts desired.

My imagination never stopped!

I would be swinging my legs back and forth pumping that swing higher and higher, stretching my legs upward towards the sky, and hoping just by chance maybe to touch the clouds. 

I would belt out a song that I had learned in church, while I was swinging. 

I felt like a bird as the words flew out of my mouth.

The big oak tree, held tight to the long cabled rope, as I twisted the rope tight as a tick and when the tension was released around I would go, getting drunk as a skunk.

What fun and I would do it repeatedly.

My dad was very inventive for he made us a go-cart. 

He used a wagon frame, a lawnmower motor, and a rope to make it work.

You would crank the Go-cart by pulling the string that was attached to the motor, but to turn it off, the spark plugs had to pull out.

There were more than enough hickory nuts to feed the forest animals and us.

We would grab several large paper sacks that were used to bring our groceries home, and take the grocery sacks into the woods, where we would fill them full, with hickory nuts of every size, kind, and variety that we could find.

We would return home with our nuts and find a good spot to crack them open, but first, we had to find two rocks, one to place the nut on, and another rock to hit the nut with.

We would retrieve one of the mother's large mixing bowls and fill the bowl full of cracked open nuts,

Then we would take the bowl full of nuts inside and pick the goodies out with the edge of a bobby pin.

In the early spring, when we knew we were going into town, we would get several paper sacks and fill them full with Polk salad and sell them in town.

Our house was built along the side of a hill; from our kitchen and bedroom windows, we could see for miles the forest.

In the distance, we could see a very large power line that looked like the kind that is used by Radio Station to pick up radio wave frequencies.

Our house was built by the sweat and brow of my parents, which took many years and was never completely finished, during the ten years that I lived there.

I can still see and feel the inside of our quaint spot on earth; which we called home, where we felt safe from the environment that surrounded us.

Our home began with just three rooms, but grew as we grew, from one bedroom into three.

Some of our walls were covered with sheetrock, while we walked on plank floors.

Our kitchen was filled with a long kitchen table, with just enough chairs for each of us to set in.

There was a stove, a refrigerator, a very large sink with cold water piped inside to our kitchen, and a very large bar for storage below and above.

The only plumbing inside our home was in the kitchen sink and that is where we would get our bathwater.

The water had to be boiled and poured into a very large tub, along with cold water which every child shared for a bath.

I remember once, sharing the tub with my bride doll, and after putting her head underwater, all her hair fell out. She no longer looked like a bride.

I guess raising eight children was not easy, especially when you put them to bed, only to be awakened by laughter and talking.

Very few cars drove by our house, so at night the only things that we could hear were the sounds outside.

We could hear the crickets rubbing their legs together, crooking of frogs, Junebugs, July-flies, owls hooting, wolfs howling, and sometimes we would hear the sound of a woman screaming, this was our mountain lion.

No curtains hang on our windows that face the forest; there was no need, what forest animal was going to peek inside?

Every now and then, the moon would peek inside; sometimes she would blink her eyes when the clouds covered them.

The fireflies could be seen throughout the forest as the night filled the sky.

Picture of life

Angelic creatures circle above us,

while watching mindless

shadows of people,

walking in puddles of sorrow.

Gray days of misfortunes 

turn the wheels of life.

Buildings linked together

Like man, as he takes to him a wife.

The clock sits suspended 

As life passes him by,

Death claims his soul in 

the stench of life as his hands

move forward.

Raindrops fall like tears

into puddles of sorrow

While floodless streets

suck up every drop 

Like a lollypop.

Power lines fill the streets

with lights that flicker

as mans soul sours

on life.

This is a cosmic place,

filled full of faceless people,

in a windless place,

seeking their fortune

living their lives on suspended

time!

The drunkard with a Gun!

Benny reached for his handgun, as he neared the quaint, dim-lit, liquor store. 

Benny had drunk every drop of his Jack Daniel’s Whiskey, as he threw the bottle at the garbage can. 

Benny lived in the dirty streets of Chicago, in a narrow alley with the other drunks. 

Benny had not a penny to his name, and was in a desperate need of another drink of whiskey, to drown out his sorrows. 

This had not always been the case with Benny, who had been disbarred from being a defense Lawyer. 

The last ten years was a blur, and Benny could hardly remember his daughter's names, whom he had not seen for five years.

The last time he went to visit his daughters, he was so drunk, that his ex-wife called the police, and he was taken to jail, where he spent the next six months.

Benny sobered up, but when he got out of jail all the old memories flooded his mind, so off he went in search of a bottle of whiskey.

Without money, he did what he had to and that was to beg for money.

He put on a pair of broken sunglasses to hide his shame and began 

sing, I am so lonesome I could cry, as tears streamed down his face.

As people passed by they felt sorry for the broken-down drunk, that sang so beautifully and they dropped coins into the tin can that sat in front of him. 

When he had enough money to buy the whiskey, he picked up the tin can and headed to the liquor store. This ritual he had done for almost a decade.

Benny had once been a very nice looking man, he was tall in a statue now bent in shame, his once dark black wavy hair had turned to gray, his dark skin pale for lack of sunshine, yet he had the voice of an angel.

He graduated from the University of Chicago and landed a job with the top attorney firms in the Chicago Area. 

He was not rich but lived high in life, he drove a Black BMW with heated red leather seats.

He had married the love of his life and college sweetheart, Peggy Sue, she was a lanky, blond, with sky blue eyes.

Peggy Sue owned a design business that was doing remarkably well called, Make it or Break it.
Peggy had been so engrossed in her business that she and Benny had drifted apart the last few years.

The couple had been married for five years when, their first daughter spunky Betty Sue, was born and five years later Linda Sue, their second daughter comes bouncing into their lives. 

Betty Sue was attending the University of Chicago where she was studying to be an architect because she wanted to design bridges.

Linda was still in high school, she wanted to help people and her dream was to become a nurse practitioner.

What had caused Benny’s downfall?

Why was Benny holding a handgun ready to rob a liquor store?

Benny was sober enough to remember the day he hired Cindy Lou, the beautiful, deceitful, twenty-five-year-old woman.

The day Cindy walked into his office, Benny was dumbfounded by her beauty, with a wiggle of her little finger Benny would come running.

What danger lurked inside this beautiful woman who controlled Benny’s life?

Cindy never left Benny’s side, every case he solved and won Cindy was there. 

Cindy was stringing Benny along, while she was stringing along with the biggest mafia leader in Chicago area, Alphonse "Scarface Al" Capone.

The Scarface was using Cindy to get to Benny because Benny was blocking his way for him to become the mayor of Chicago. 

Cindy could charm the socks off a rabbit, her long ebony hair flowed down her back, her dark eyes were out of sight, her skin was dark as night and she had lips every man wanted to kiss.

She was a woman no man could resist and this is how she came to be the lover of "Scarface", the top mafia leader in Chicago. 

Cindy had charmed the life out of nine men, and because of this she had become known as The Black Widow Spider.

Cindy had been tried nine times and nine times she was acquitted.

Cindy was never once convicted or sent to prison for her crimes.

Why could Benny not see beyond the beauty and deception of Cindy Lou?

Cindy Lou was deeply angry with her present mafia lover, for he was cheating on her with the new kid on the block named, Stella. I will show him, Cindy thought to herself as she was plotting her revenge, and Benny will help.

Cindy calls Benny from her cell phone and says, Benny met me downtown, and she gives him the address. 

Benny, what an idiot, he drops what he is doing and jumps into his BMW and drives downtown, unknowing he was going into (Scarface's), the leader of Chicago mafia, office.

Benny enters the office and where he sees Cindy standing over the body of Scarface, who is lying on the floor covered in blood.

Benny said to Cindy, what happened? 

Cindy is standing next to the body of Scarface with tears streaming down her face and she looks up at Benny and says, he tried to rape me, can you believe that?  Cindy said, without thinking, I picked the brass statue and hit him on the head.

She wept uncontrollably and kept saying, It was in self-defense.

The police were called and they arrest Cindy, charging her with the murder of Scarface.

Benny was at her side every step of the way, planning her defense.

Cindy was cleared of the crime but on a technicality.

Somehow Benny’s involvement causes him to lose his licenses as a lawyer.

Benny’s wife had watched the trial from day one and was not very happy about Benny’s involvement with Cindy.

When the trial was over Benny’s wife, Peggy Sue, files for divorce and takes everything Benny owns, he is left penniless.

Benny falls into a deep dark state of depression and this is when his drinking began.

Now, look at Benny, still standing in front of the liquor store with a gun in his hand, trying to decide whether to rob the store or turn around and leave when a Chaplin approaches Benny. 

The Chaplin says brother, why are you holding a gun in your hand looking toward that liquor store?

Suddenly, Benny comes to himself, he hears the voice of the Chaplin say, brother can I help you?

Benny drops the gun, sadness overcomes him and begun to weep and shake uncontrollably.

The Chaplin said follow me, Benny hangs his head in shame and follows the Chaplin.

Benny began to spill his guts to the Chaplin, and how the last ten years have brought total hell into his life. 

Benny looked at the Chaplin and said, I need to get myself out of this dump, that I am in but, I don’t know how. 

The Chaplin took Benny into his home and worked with him day and night.

It was an everyday struggle to overcome the last ten years of being a drunk and which months of hard work.

The Chaplin never gave up on Benny.

Finally, Benny was on the road to a new life in which liquor was not involved. 

Benny applied for his attorney license which he received the end of that year.

The bottle no longer had control of Benny life.

Benny was in control of his own life, but not without the help of someone who believes in him.

Benny was going to devote his life to helping others, who like him, had taken the road to destruction. 

Benny would never achieve the greatness that he had once hoped but the desire to help others now felt right in his bones.

One fact we cannot overlook is, that without the help of the Chaplin, that sent into Benny’s life that day, that Benny’s life would have taken a totally different turn.

Yes, Benny would still be living in the gutters of hell and yes, Benny would have robbed that liquor store and yes, maybe even killed the store clerk. 

Never give up on life, there is a high power who watches over us, and yes, he will save the day, if we believe in him.

Oh, by the way, Cindy Lou was killed in a drive-by shooting. 

Do you think Karma found her?
Karma comes in many forms, could it be she was wiped out by a member of Scarface's gang or could it have been Scarface's spirit coming back for revenge? We will never know!!

✈️✈️✈️2007~ Tuesday, May 1, Trip to Shriners Hospital in Lexington, KY

We left the Muscle Shoals airport at 7:45 A.M. 

This is our second trip to the Shiners Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.

I brought my camera this time so I could take pictures. 

Inside the airplane, I took several pictures of my granddaughter she was laughing and enjoying the plane ride.

My daughter and I had to wear large headphones so we could talk to the pilot.

So we took pictures of each other wearing the headphones.

We flew low enough for me to take some awesome pictures of the ground below. 

I took several pictures of a boat chugging along the Tennessee River toward locks at Wilson Dam.

I took pictures of the Marriott Hotel and The Renaissance Tower standing behind it. 

For miles, I could see green trees, buildings with smoke coming out of the top, a white water tower, and I could see the flowing of the Tennessee River.

Then we flew over the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course, what a view it looked like a video game with all the crooked paths, sandpits, and clubhouse. 

We left the Tennessee Valley flying through Tennessee and Kentucky all the while I was taking pictures of all the lush greenery, different land shapes, hills and valleys, busy streets, houses, factories, and swimming pools. 

Kentucky was a totally different view with the brilliant glow of the Kentucky Blue Grass, acres and acres of horse tracks, green rooftop barns, a lush green field filled with Kentucky racing horses, and miles of white fencing. 

Our pilot gave my granddaughter a TEC Air lanyard, neck strap, which we put around her neck. 

We safely landed at the Kentucky Air Field at 9:30 A.M. Standing next to the building were rows of horse jockey statues.

When we arrived our pilot went inside to get a van to take us to Shriners Hospital for my granddaughter's appointment.

After we checked in, my granddaughter was weighed, her head and length were measured and she was taken to the Penguin examination room. 

In the examination room was a mural on the wall behind the table where my granddaughter sat, was a white and red owl, holding a red balloon, a black walrus with a white tusk, wearing red earmuffs, three black and white penguins, with orange beaks, wearing hats of red, green and yellow, all standing in the snow.

Doctor DB examined my granddaughter's bones. 

My daughter talked to BP about Botox and she told my daughter that Botox was a protein made of bacteria.

My daughter told the doctors that she wanted to take my granddaughter to Baltimore, Maryland for therapy.

They gave us a lunch voucher and we walked to the cafeteria where we ate pinto beans, cornbread, broccoli, salmon patties, watermelon, and brownies.

The food that I ate did not agree with my stomach and the tea we drank was instant not brewed. 

Our pilot came to pick us up at 1:50 P.M. 

Our flight home was very bumpy and our pilot said when hot air rises it causes the plane to bounce up and down. 

My daughter had not flown many times and this flight was a little upsetting to her. 

We arrived safely at the Muscle Shoals Airport. 

May 1, 2007, Lexington, KY

Leave Muscle Shoals Airport (MSL) at 7:45 A.M.  

Arrive at 9:30 A.M. Lexington Kentucky Airport (LEX)

Leave 1:30 P.M. Lexington Kentucky Airport (LEX)

Arrived at Muscle Shoals Airport (MSL)