Bunk beds And Extra Long Prayers

Grandma Lu loved to on line shop for things. One day she decided to look for some new bedding. As she scrolled through all of the pictures of bed spreads and pillows, she saw a set of bunk beds. Once again she thought of the bunk beds that she and her brother had when they lived on the farm. What a disaster! She sat back in her chair and looked out the window. Ah the memories; some wonderful, some not so much.

One day she and her little brother came home from school and there in the parlor were a set of metal bunk beds. They were the oddest looking things she had ever seen. The sewing machine had been moved and the piano was in the dining room! The big freezer was still in there but everything looked strange. Her little brother walked over there and decided that these new beds would be so much fun, but not to her! These beds did not have the heavy quilts on them. Where were the quilts? She would be cold with just those thin new blankets to cover up with. "Why do I have to sleep on this bed? What do you mean,  I get to sleep on the top? I'll fall off and kill myself!" I was assured I would love my new bed and of course, since I was the oldest I would sleep on the top bunk and all would be well.

She smiled as she remembered her mother showing her the new double blankets on the bed. It would be so warm. The blanket was so long that she would sleep on it and cover up with it. There were also new blue blankets on top of the double blankets. Plus she had made us each a new pair of pajamas. She acted so excited for us. She reminded us that the parlor would be so much warmer because it was much closer to the coal stove in the dining room. I loved my mom so much I tried really hard to be excited for her. I told her how much I loved my new pajamas. Then night time came.

She remembered having a little trouble going to sleep that night because there was no window to look out from. But with a grin she also remembered that the new blankets were so soft and not heavy like grandma's quilts, but the coal stove kept us nice and warm. The next thing I knew I woke up on the cold linoleum floor and couldn't breathe. 

I had fallen out of bed and now I couldn't breather; I was going to die!

My mother, father, and little brother were all talking at once and trying to get me to talk. Finally I got my breath back. My little brother thought my flight to my almost death was so neat. My father was very upset, but there was my mother.  She was saying all the right things, she told me that I wasn't going to die and that I would be alright, and I wouldn't fall out of bed again. She was right on all counts, but that didn't stop me from saying my prayers an extra long time the next time I climbed the ladder to the top bunk.

Responsibility And Disaster At The Library

 Grandma Lu was sitting in her chair by the window looking at the clouds. She grinned and thought, "Old woman, you have been doing this since you were old enough to remember. On the farm your bedroom that you shared with your oldest sister seemed like it was in the arms of the cottonwood trees. You could see the squirrels and the birds. The big fluffy clouds were your favorites. You could make them into anything that you could imagine. Sometimes you saw giants, bunny rabbits, wolves, or big teddy bears. Your bed was so very comfy. You could hardly move when you were in bed because of your grandmother's heavy quilts that weighed you down. They were made of old coats. You could lay there and listen to what was happening downstairs and knew that soon your dad would come up the stairs and squeeze your big toe and say "Up and at 'em Annie. Time for breakfast." I would squeal and laugh and go downstairs for a hearty breakfast. When I say hearty it was hearty. Often it was oatmeal with brown sugar and cream or French toast made from homemade bread. We had Sanka or hot chocolate to drink for bteakfast to keep us warm. We also had heavy cream in our Sanka or hot chocolate.

Grandma Lu grinned as she thought of the day that she and her mother walked up the steps to the Cherokee County Library. I can remember so well the feeling when I printed my name on my new library card. I had not yet learned cursive, but my writing, often messy, was perfect on that card. I received a stern warning from both my mother and the librarian, Mrs. Irene Leeds that from now on I would be held responsible for the books that I checked out. They were to be kept clean and not marked in. I was told to always remember that other people would be reading the same books that I had returned and they expected them to be good as new.

After a few weeks of checking out books Mrs. Leeds greeted my mother and I with great news. The library had received a new shipment of brand new books that had never been read before. She looked me in the eyes and smiled and said, "I know you will take very good care of these books, LuAnne, so if you would like to check them out you may."

I looked at my mother and she smiled and said, "You may check out one of the books this week. Next week you may get another." It was Little House on the Prairie written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The year was 1951 and I was seven years old. Little did I know that the world as I knew it would never be the same. That book started my mind reeling with "What ifs" and "Oh nos!" and a brand new feeling of "I can't wait until next weekend so I can read the next book to see what happens!"

Those books were often the subjects of my conversation at the kitchen table and with my mom while she was baking. One day I asked if I could take my book to school. I thought that the children and teacher would like to see what I was going to talk about. In other words it would be my prop for my little speech we all had to do in second grade. It was a bit like show and tell for older children. After much stern warnings and reminding me that the book was expensive and that I could take it, but be extremely careful I took that precious book to school and never saw it again. That day is right up there with one of the worst days of my life. You see my parents had to pay for that book. It cost them $11.00. That was the equivalent of $133 nowadays.

The last story I wrote I said I knew no crime until I was a grownup, but while I am writing this, I have a sinking feeling that someone did find that book and kept it for themselves.

It took some doing to get the trust back from Mrs. Leeds and my mother. Of course, I never ever took a book to school after that except those for homework.

She Was Going On An Adventure And A Bouquet of Lilacs

 She was impatient and eager to get to her destination. She had seen that little metal house when she got off the bus. She looked across the road every day when she got on the bus as well as when she got home. That little metal house had beautiful lilac bushes. They were ever so pretty. She had noticed that on her birthday they were in full bloom. 

She thanked her mom for her lunch. It was her favorite; homemade bread, fresh churned butter sprinkled with sugar and a small jar of water. She watched as her mom wrapped it up in one of her dishtowels that she had embroidered. "Thanks, Mama. I'm on my way for an adventure and look for hobos!" Her mom said, "Be careful and don't be gone long. I have some chores for you to do when you get back."

In the back of her mind she knew she shouldn't cross the highway, but she just needed to see who lived in that little house. As she walked up the quarter mile driveway she looked to her left. The old basement house was there. Her mom had said that a long time ago she and Dad and her sister, Rosie, had lived in it until Grandma and Grandpa had moved to town. "Yuk, I don't think I would like to have lived underground. Glad I didn't have to."

She walked to the highway like she did every morning to catch the bus. Her bus driver was nice. His name was Charlie Smith. She stood for a minute and looked across the field. There it was. "I'll be careful and look both ways before I cross the highway. Hopefully I can get under the fence on the other side. It would be so fun if there is somebody home."

She stopped and took a drink of her water from the little jar, tightened the lid and crossed the highway. She walked carefully down the ditch and found a place in the fence where she could crawl under it. Then the long walk began. She began to wonder if it was a good idea to walk such a distance, but oh how she wanted to pick some of those lilacs. Finally she got close to the bushes. She buried her face in the beautiful flowers. Oh they smelled so good! She thought she had better knock on the door. Soon a very pretty lady answered the door and said, "Well, hello there! What can I do for you today?"

"Hi, my name is LuAnne and I'd like to pick some of your lilacs for a bouquet." For some reason the lady thought it was funny because she chuckled. She said, "Why don't you come in and have a cookie with me? I was just about to have one and nice cold drink."

Nothing sounded better than a freshly baked cookie. She was such a nice lady, but she kept asking questions like, "Does your mama know that you walked here? Where exactly do you live?" Finally she said, "Ill tell you what I'll pick you some lilacs and walk part way back with you. How does that sound?"

When I got back home I showed my mother my beautiful bouquet of flowers. "Look what the nice lady in that little metal house gave me? Aren't they beautiful?"

Well, by the time her mother scolded her for going so far away and not telling her where she was going, plus a list of chores that needed to be done she wondered if the long walk was worth the pretty flowers.

That little girl will never forget that nice lady who was so very nice to a little five year old girl over seventy-five years ago.

It Was A Good Day For A Hobo Lunch

 She was five years and six days old. "Boy, I'm sure glad this birthday was better than last year. I ruined my dress, I got a spanking which I never want another one again, plus my sister got really mad at me for spilling her fingernail polish. This year Mama made me a great big cake and Daddy pretended he was going to eat it all and held it up high in the air. I joined in the fun and danced all around him yelling No! No! No!. Daddy is so much fun. Grandma didn't make me a dress this year. Probably because I ruined the one she made me last year. She made me a great big birthday dinner though. It was fun. I even got a dollar bill in a birthday card. Today I got another dollar bill in a card from Grandma that was in the mailbox, but Mama said I couldn't keep it. When I said, "Why not?" She said because grandma forgot that she had sent it. I still have to think about that. What makes Mama think that she forgot it? What if she loved me so much that she decided to give me two dollars this year? Oh well, I think that I will ask my Mama to make me a hobo lunch and go for a walk.

On the way into the house she started counting the trees in the yard. There were so many of them. She could count really good; all the way to one hundred. By the time she got to the back door she had counted seventy nine of them! She would ask her mom what kind of trees they were because they made noise and they dropped little cotton balls all over the yard. Yes, it was a good day for a walk and a hobo lunch. Maybe she would even see one of those hobos she had heard about.