Joann:
Oldest of the five of us. Joann is 12 years older than me. I shared a bed with her from the start of my life. All was good until she started dating boys. I was about 5 years old and I would get mad at her and the boys she would date because my bedtime was 8pm and her curfew was 9pm. I would act like I was asleep on the couch down stairs and refuse to wake up when dad would try to get me to go upstairs to bed. Most nights he would carry me up the stairs then I would get out of bed and sit at the top of the stairs mad as a wet hen until Joann would come home. Then I would fuss at her and she would pet me or get mad at me then we would go to bed. Then my future brother-in-law came along and messed up my little nest.
He married her at the ripe old age of 18 (She turned 18 in March, I turned 7 in June, and she married in August). I was excited about all the wedding nuptials and being the flower girl and the reception etc... then when I got home I asked dad "when is Joann coming home?" He gave me the crushing report that Joann will come to visit but she no longer lives with us. My whole world came crashing down around me when I realized that from that point on I will always have to sleep alone. Mom and dad had to lock their bedroom door so I would not slip in and try to sleep with them. We grew a part over the years and sadly now she has a memory problem that prevent any meaningful relationship with her.
Van: He is the second of five. Van was 8 years old when I was born. I believe I was the thorn on his stem of roses. Van was a joker and loved to jump out and scare me, play jokes on me and rough house play with me. He didn't have much to do with me until Mom force him to after Joann married.
He was 15 at the time and not interested in his little sister at all except the occasional joke he would play on me. I was obsessed with not spending the night alone. I would try to stay with Van but he would not have his little sister in his bed so he took advantage of the situation. It worked for me to. He would hold a dollar bill in his hand at night and told me if I would rub his feet until he fell asleep I could take the dollar and it would be mine. Well, every night I would rub his nasty stinky feet until he would fall asleep. The problem was that he was a very light sleeper so when I would stop rubbing his feet and reach for the dollar bill he would wake up and tighted his grip on the bill. Needless to say... I did not get rich rubbing his feet. When he turned 16 he became obsessed with Javelin vehicles. Mom made him take me with him every time she sent him on an errand. Well Van obviously resented it and I did not help much because I would mess with his radio, 8 track tape player (yes it was the 70's) and heat or air conditioner. One day, I guess he was fed up with me and my tag along ways, he was going to make it worse to go than to stay. He told me if I touched anything in his car I would be sorry. I did not believe him so I started messing with his radio, air conditioner, etc... He got mad, turned the air conditioner vents on me and turned the air to high cold. He told me he would pinch me if I moved. Soooo I sit there turned blue, and wished I had not touched his precious car. However, I still wanted to go with him everywhere and I did not tell on him cause I knew I would not get to go with him the next time. Neither of us won from that event. We have had a lot of laughs about it over the years and even though I did not get rich rubbing his feet or freeze to death riding in his cars I did get to spend time with my big brother that I love very much. I miss him alot.
Paul: He is the fourth of five. Paul was always the adventure seeking one of the bunch. He would take a boring day and before we knew it we were having a blast. His imagination got him in a lot of trouble with adults but with us kids he was the one to be with. Because of his nature he got hurt a lot. He had more bruises, cuts, and stitches than any of the rest of us combined. We had a Shetland Pony named Champ and a Welsh Pony named Lady. We would ride them after school most days. One day I came home from school and Paul and Scott were no where around. So I saddle up Champ and headed down the road. About 100 yards into the ride, Champ just laid over on me. He was breathing heavy. Mouth foaming. I was scared to death I had killed him. I ran to the house and got dad. He looked at Champ and sent me for a bucket of water and some towels. He took care of champ got him up and settled. Called us all together and asked each of us. What we knew about Champ. Everyone of us denied knowing anything. It was not long until Paul and Scott confessed to playing hookie from school and riding Champ all day. The poor animal was exhausted and had not had a drink of water all day. We had a nother pony named Spirit. This animal gave us fits. He would always get out of the pasture and wander. He would buck us off his back if dad was not around. I would not ride him. Paul was gonna "break" him one day. He put the saddle on him, tightned it up, with sheer determination in his face he jumped in the saddle. Spirit never bucked, stomped, etc... Paul was proud. Then spirit sucked in his gut and the saddle turned around under his belly... with Paul in it. It was one of the funniest things I ever saw.
Paul and I are like sandpaper that keeps each other smooth. When we have a problem with each other we talk or fuss it out. We eventually either agree or agree to disagree, and make up. He has a lot of health problems from injuries over the years but he is determined to keep on going in spite of it all. He is a very special brother and I love him very much. I really need to make a better effort to spend more time with him and his family. They are really a lot of fun to be around.
Scott: He is the baby. He had cute little curls (still does) and a very sweet spirit (still does). However, he loved be the follower. What ever Paul and I would encourage him to do He did it. Paul and I were under the impression since he was so cute and the baby then if Scott did it then it would be ok. Some how we always got into trouble with that theory. Scott was an entertainer. When he was little he would climb on the pool table and sing Elvis or Elton songs with the pool stick or hair brush as a microphone. I wish we had videos of his performances. Dad would put him on the pool table to entertain us sometimes just to have a laugh together. I have to tell the story of the craw fish adventure. Dad had open heart surgery when I was 12, Paul was 10 and Scott was 8. He didn't do to well and had to be on bedrest at home for a long time. Mama was working in the floweshop day and night trying to make ends meet. During that summer we were suppose to be "good" and stay at home unless we were told to go to mamaw and papaw. Well Paul and Scott snuck out of the house and went to the creek down the street. A while later they looked up to see daddy slowly coming down the road. He told them to get to the house and go to their room and wait on him because they were in trouble. They did but in addition they layered in clothing (I was in my room with the door closed and heard laughing and stuff but I didn't pay them much attention). When Dad came up he lectured them a minute got a belt and started the spanking process. There were screams and yells coming from my brothers so bad I thought dad had lost his mind and were hurting them. I snatched open my door set ready to "rescue" them when dad walked away. He went around to corner in the hall way and stepped down a few of the steps and back up. He put his finger to his mouth for me to be quiet and waved me back into my room. I did but with the crack to look through so I could see what was going on. Well Paul and Scott started shedding clothing, laughing, and proclaiming that they really fooled daddy, etc... about the time they got down to their shorts Dad came around the corner. I shut my door because the laughter soon turned to tears. I have a good relationship with my brother Scott. We share a simular love for the word of God. We love to get together to read the Bible and Study. I have let the circumstances and troubles of the last few months to come between me and Scott. I need to make time for him and our study time.
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