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Our Forefathers and Foremothers 25
A GUN
My father was furious when he got a detective’s report saying that two men were living in the house with us. He came charging over and rang the doorbell. We lived on the second floor, with the stairway as the entry hall, so when my mother heard my father’s voice, she ran and got a small, silver handgun.
When the door opened and my father began rushing up the steps, my mother shouted, “I have a gun! I’ll shoot if you try to take my child!” My father froze, and I grabbed my mother’s arm and wrenched the gun from her hand.
Meanwhile, my dad turned around and ran down the stairs and out of our house. I don’t know if the gun was loaded, but I know I wasn’t going to let my mother kill my father in front of my eyes! My mom and I fell on the steps and started crying and holding each other. This was one of the worst times of my life.
My father quickly sent me back to boarding school. My friends were very comforting, but I know my mother suffered greatly when I left her so suddenly. Sadly, I didn’t see much of her during the rest of my time at school, or after I graduated.
Above
Birdene’s squirrel-trimmed fur coat was purchased with a $250 insurance settlement from an auto accident in which the Studebaker was rear-ended and I was thrown against the front seat, smashing my nose. Instead of fixing my nose, my mother bought this coat!
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Me, posing in a photo booth on the pier, age twelve.