Nanny Tales Part Three

(what do you remember about me-kevin-losing my eye?)

“A whole lot. Before we moved to Georgia, you were going to Central (school). I’d had your eyes tested. The doctor there, I can’t remember his name, said that you had a “lazy” right eye. He put a patch on it. Then, after we moved to Georgia, you’d been having bad headaches. You came home from school one day and said “Momma, when I do this, I can’t see nothing” (covering my right eye). It scared me, and I called Wayne. I called up to the eye doctor, and I took you up there. He examined you and said “he’s totally blind” (in the right eye). I called Wayne. Anyway, he sent us to a specialist over in Columbus, GA. The big children’s hospital. We went over there to the eye doctor and they did tests, and stuff. He called us back there to look at the tests. It looked like “sand” behind your eye. He said it was infection. He said we could have it taken out, or there might could be a transplant. So, Shirley Hall, the secretary at the truck stop Wayne worked at, her and her husband belonged to the Lion’s Club. She checked into it, and she could get us an eye. Get you an eye. When the doctors got in there, they said it (infection) had eaten through the nerves, and stuff. They couldn’t transplant. So, you had surgery in Columbus, GA. (the surgery) took a couple of hours. You went in one day and they did it the next day. You was over there about a week. Your Aunt Mary and Uncle Claude drove down there. We lived in LaGrange. (The house on the hill) We moved from there (LaGrange) to Buford, GA. (The house in LaGrange) was a new house, but it only had two bedrooms. Their bedroom (the kids) was big enough to put a full bed for the boys and bunk beds for the boys.

(what happened the night the pigs got loose?)

It was in the day time. Joe was gonna help. They took off across the field. They got out. (the pigs) I noticed they got out. You’re supposed to go around and get behind (them). But Joe would chase them. (laughs) There I was trying to get around them, and Joe was chasing them. I had to holler at him. We got them back in, though.

Ronnie Brown was working for Dad at the truck stop. After the horses had penned me in the feed house. Every time I’d open the door, he’d (the horse) would kick it shut. I went out there the next day or so, to feed them. (horses) I saw this snake. I called Wayne, and they come in from the truck stop and started pulling the feed sacks out, where they’d throwed them in there. There was a nest of rattlers.

(what about the time the drunk came to the door?)

Dad was gone to the truck stop. It was midnight and somebody kept rattling the screen door on the screened-in back porch. Of course there was a door into the house, I had locked. I took all you kids in the bedroom. I told you to stay in there, and I got the gun. I opened the wooden door and I’d ask him “what do you want?” (he said) “I need somebody to take me to town” I said “there ain’t nobody here to take you to town. You need to go on!” He just kept trying to get that door open. I finally told him “if you don’t go on, I got a gun.” He left and went up to the neighbor’s house. I had no idea who this (the drunk) was. Come to find out, I didn’t know him, but he was a neighbor (from) down the road. Wasn’t very far, but he was wanting to go to town.

(when mary ann got sick, at school)

It was the last day of school. When she came home, I always watched from you to come off the bus. When you come up the lane there to the house. Pam was holding on to Mary Ann. When I went out there, she had 104 temperature. And I said “why didn’t you call me to come get you?” She said “he wouldn’t let me” The principle wouldn’t. I called Wayne and told him and he went out there to talk to the principle. The principle pointed his finger at him and told him “this is my schools, I’ll run it the way I see fit” and Wayne backhanded him. He was in a swivel chair and knocked him over backwards. Wayne went on back to work. He called me and said “if the sheriff comes looking for me, I’m at work.” I said “what did you do?” and he told me. Never did hear nothing about it.

We had a lot of things happen. Like when yall were in high school, at Turrell, and Wayne was running chains. (at a football game) (laughs) And another drunk (laughs). He hauled off and hit a guy there. (kevin- ‘he always told me that was the most embarrassed he’d ever been.) Yeah, he was ready to go home. He wouldn’t even stay for the chili supper. (kevin-”i remember that, because I was standing on the sidelines. It was my “coming up” year. The end of my tenth grade year.) Everybody else was proud of him. (kevin-we were too! When I was standing over there, I didn’t know what had happened. All of a sudden there was a cluster of people over there) I remember Tommy Chandler was sitting up there by us. (in the bleachers) I said “who in the world?” Cause I didn’t see him hit him. I said “what’s going on?” and Tommy said “he just hit that guy” and I said “who?” “your husband!” I said “Oh gosh.” (dad said the guy had been bad mouthing our team all night, following the chain gang. Drunk. And finally said something about that “so and so quarterback” and he turned around and hit him.

You’re Dad had a temper. He didn’t control it too good, sometimes. (kevin-No. But he had the size to back it up.) It’s a good thing he did.”

This was the end of the original interview. It took place at least eight years ago. I will be doing a new interview very soon. I will include new pictures and will also conduct it on video, which I will have to post separately. Look for it on YouTube.