My Life in a Box

MY LIFE IN A BOX

Chapter one

When I was a child, my family moved from place to place looking for the next great thing…or to avoid rent, or to skate out on the usual bills like gas, water, electricity, etc. All because my gypsy wanna be stepdad, Will, was a heavy drinker, and gambler, and didn’t really want the responsibility of raising happy, well-balanced children. At least, that’s my opinion.

I was born in the 50s…the fourth of nine children … and I was only six months old when my biological father was murdered…more on that later.

My mom did her very best to care for us… holding down several jobs, being an amateur photographer, selling goods, and waitressing, all while still being our awesome, strong, independent, mom.

When I was five or six, mom married my stepdad, Will, and our lives would forever change…not only our lives, but especially moms. Before I turned twelve, five more children were added to our family.

We were living in Old Town, Florida before my first younger sister was born. We didn’t have an air conditioner, or a telephone, or inside plumbing; hell, we didn’t even have grass in the sandy, weed-spotted yard.

The house, or shanty we lived in came with an old wooden two-holed-out house. One hot summer day, I was using the ‘bathroom’ just daydreaming as my short legs and little feet dangled off the seat. I was playing with a small piece of wood that had broken off from the inside plank. My panties hung around my ankles. I watched the dust dance like little faries in the sunbeam through the cracks in the outhouse.

I turned to find the Sears catalog when it seemed the dust increased and the dancing fairies seemed to multiply. Then I realized what was making such a stir. A giant snake was slowly creeping its way around the back behind the first hole and already coming around the second hole…MY hole…inside of the outhouse toward me.

I jumped off the wooden seat with my panties still around my ankles. I was still clutching the piece of wood as I ran screaming through the yard. Then my panties tripped me, but I still screamed. I just knew that snake was gonna catch me.

Mom and Will came out of the house to see what the fuss was about. I was still screaming, pointing at the outhouse yelling snake! Big snake! With his leather belt in hand, Will cautiously opened the outhouse door. Slowly he peered to the left then the right. Nothing! He clutched his belt in his angry fist, stomped back to us and grabbed me by my arm. He picked me up and proceeded to whip me with his belt…FOR WAKING HIM FROM HIS NAP!

Once the welts and pain subsided, I went into the house. I found an empty cigar box and placed the small chunk of wood inside. Just a reminder to always have something to squeeze if the pain gets to be too much.