Sometime or other after this I became friends with my half cousin Jessie. Jessie was one of Art's kids. She was married to Mike Colvin. I liked them both but they too got me into trouble.
Jessie got pregnant and she told me she needed money to buy things for the baby. She wanted Mike to get a loan for 500 dollars from Household Finance. She asked me if I would co-sign for him because even though he had a job, it was the only way they would let him. It was the first and only time I ever co-signed a loan for anyone.
I didn't know it then, of course, but the little creep said he couldn't finish paying it off and the company said I had to finish paying it. It cost me about three hundred bucks but I had to do it. I was pretty angry about that. Jessie was pregnant but she didn't even use the money for stuff for the baby. She bought herself a fancy coat and some other things.
After the baby was born I forgave her. I think she was living with him in a trailer, maybe in Millie's Trailer court. I'm not sure. I would go there when I had time just to talk to her or she would cook dinner.
One night there was a young scruffy looking man there. He acted like he liked me. I thought it was odd but I didn't mind having a friend. It turned out he was just after my money and wanted a free piece of, well, you know what he wanted. He didn't get the last despite all that happened.
He was living in an old Winnebago. It wasn't too nasty inside. He told me he had a business. He would take me for rides to the places he did business. I think he kissed me once but I really didn't care for it, at least not with him.
He was always and I do mean always, asking me to loan him gas money. I figured later that Jessie or Mike had told him I was easy with a sob story. He kept saying he'd pay me back but of course he never did. His business was the machines you see in places. Those one's like in bars that you can play games on and some let you win prizes. I was a bit interested in that. I kind of liked playing the pinball machines.
He was the only guy that acted the least bit interested in me. I wasn't in love with him. I wasn't that dumb but I was dumb enough to keep paying for his gas.
It was near Christmas but I don't remember much about that. He was Jewish, he claimed so he didn't do Christmas. He invited me to go to a New Years Eve party with him an Mike and Jessie.
That was the dress I wore, I don't know why I got it. Sue says now it was ugly. As I look at it now I can see it really was. It looked more like something from the clearance rack of Halloween outfits. But I wore it. Yes, I wore my hair in braids as usual.
He tried his hardest to get me to drink but I refused. I don't think he slipped anything in my drinks for sure. I was not sleepy and I wasn't drunk off my butt either.
What I was, however, was a little bit ticked off at my other half cousin Judy, who I didn't expect to even see there. Just because I didn't want a relationship with him didn't mean I wouldn't be offended by what she did.
She really threw herself at him and he was literally sucking it up. She practically showed him her naked boobs at the dinner table. She was married and her husband sat right beside her and didn't even seem to notice.
I took it as long as I could when something came over me. I picked up a black olive off the tray and tossed it at her front. It went right in there and she shrieked.
Quickly picking up her plate of mashed potatoes, she hurled it at me. I ducked. Most of it hit Jim right in the face. Some splattered the couple at the next table over. Food started flying in every direction.
I dove under the table. Jessie was under there with me. It turned into more than food flying. People were slapping and punching each other. I pulled Jessie with me and we crawled for the ladies room. I could hear sirens. I didn't want to be in there. Mom would lock me in my room for the rest of my life. It didn't matter how old I was.
In the toilet we looked for a way out of there. There was a small window but I had to stand on it to reach it. I shoved it open. I hauled her up there on the sink. Its a wonder the sink didn't break. She fit though but she was afraid to drop down. I asked her, " Do you want to be arrested?" She jumped and I went after her.
We dashed around to the front of the place to see guys being led out in hand cuffs. She was looking for Mike. I didn't give two rats for Jimbo. Except for the fact that he was our driver and I wasn't even sure he was capable of driving.
I led Jessie over to where he had parked the truck he'd borrowed to get us there. We got in it. He'd never even locked the doors. We sat and we waited. I was all for driving out of there but not only did I not have the keys but I figured the cops would still be out front waiting.
After awhile I heard them coming. They were laughing like it was all a big funny deal. They claimed they had been looking all over for us when the cops came but I knew better. They were right beside us when we ducked under the table. I'm sure they knew where we were. As a lot of other times in my life, I sucked it up and figured I'd never see him again if I made it home.
He dropped off Jessie and Mike. Then he started out but he wasn't headed for Argyle. He claimed he was too tired to drive home. He went to his place, Jellystone Trailer Park. He said it was almost morning and I might as well rest. Rest wasn't what he had in mind.
I called Mom and told her I was spending the rest of the night in his trailer. You would have thought from the way she screamed that I'd just told her I was going to bed with the snake. I, in my innocence, thought I would be at one end and him at the other.
I have to say this and only this for him. He sure did try but I was adamant and kept telling him to back off. I was not doing that and I sure wasn't doing that with him. I even went to the door and stepped out but he pulled me back inside. He swore he'd leave me alone and he did. He crashed in the bed and I sat on the couch wide awake till morning.
He said, "Let's go to breakfast."
I said, "I just want to go home."
He kept pushing and I eventually shut up and let him take me out for breakfast. I think I had an English muffin. I was careful to tell him before he ordered that I had no money with me. I wasn't buying him breakfast after the fiasco of the night before.
After breakfast he did take me home.
He was parked there for a few minutes while he tried to talk to Mom who was having none of his shit.
Along about then, a visitor wandered into the yard. It was Dick Taylor's turkey. I think I have a much earlier photo of the turkey.
You can't see him well because the photo was one of those terrible polaroids and it decayed fast but there is a giant male turkey there. This was taken a year earlier. That turkey was even bigger that day.
He was gobbling as he sashayed up to the open door of the Winnebago and hopped inside. I said nothing. The turkey walked around in there a tiny bit and I sure he left presents where ever he walked. He was just coming back out when Jim came out of the house. He yelled bloody murder at that poor innocent turkey who calmly pooped some more on the steps.
I was having a hard time keeping the laughter inside. He slammed the door as much as he could and tore off out the drive. I figured I'd never see him again. I went inside where Mom was still boiling mad. She didn't believe me when I told her nothing happened.
Jessie later spilled the beans about the riot I supposedly cause with out even having one drink. I really don't think Mom ever believed me.
The story doesn't end here.
I had made friends with a lady in NYC who did crafts and read the same books as I did. We had become good friends and she wanted to meet me. I needed a vacation away from it all and I thought it was a good idea. I had vacation time coming and another pen pal and older lady was going to meet me there, too.
Once I got to NYC, I got off the bus and onto a train that was supposed to take me to where she lived. I forgot exactly the name of the place. I'm seeing Mount Vernon in my mind but I'm not sure of it. I got off the train in the wrong place. I was on an elevated train line above Harlem. That was scary. I sat on a bench for people waiting for another train.
Mom had told me not to talk to strangers but there was no one I knew to talk to there. They were all strangers. A black lady sat down beside me and asked me where I was going. I told her what had happened. She said don't worry, another train would be a long in a few minutes. When it did she told me that was the one I should get on to continue. I did and sure enough, I got off where I was supposed to and Carole was there waiting for me. First we went to her house and I met her mom. I don't recall if she had a Dad. She had birds and we took photos of me and the birds.
I was having a lot of fun there. The next day she had something she had to do but she told me which train to get on to go into the city itself. I had talked to the other lady on the phone and she met me there at the station.
I took a photo of her but I don't know where it is or if I still have it. I don't have photos of Carole and I don't remember if I took any either.
St Patrick's Cathedral. I saw this there then.
This lady and I went all over shopping. I bought Dad a special set of Hawthorne Steel knives that I took back to him. He wasn't impressed but that was nothing new. I never gave him a present he liked.
Before I met old Tom I'd purchased a lovely leather jacket with a Sherpa lining. It wasn't like that fake stuff you can buy now. It was real. He opened it up Christmas morning or maybe Mom opened it because he would have refused to do that. He told me I might as well take it back to the store because he would never wear it. I was too ashamed to think that my own Dad didn't like something I 'd paid a huge amount of money for.
Years later when Old Tom came to meet them and con the dog into liking him, Dad gave it to him. I was really pissed about that.