Growing Up in Ohio

I went on a short hiatus because it was the anniversary of my Mother's passing. You see my mother was crippled; she had rickets and crippling Arthritis so her legs were twisted and many thought she was crazy. But my Mother raised five sons with NO help from the lousy sperm donor, my father.

He departed home one night after trying to shoot me because as he beat my Mother with his fists, again, I added a very large flowerpot to his skull. It was hard for a scrawny boy of eleven to be a father to four brothers, but I did it. And he deserved what he got, but as boy of only eleven I was now the father to my four brothers. It was so hard but we made it; with my Mother's help and teachings, we made it.

 She suffered at times, like when we were acting up and when it got cold, because we lived on just $30.00 a week. Our rent was $65.00 a month, and we couldn't get Welfare because my father paid child support. We only had a space heater to keep us warm in Ohio. Hell, even our toilet froze over. We used the restroom at the gas station. Mom had to keep a kettle of water on the heater so she could get the ice out and be able to use the bathroom herself because she couldn't walk to the station.

She raised five boys and yes, sometimes she cried, and so did we. I was wondering why God did this to us, many times, but every Sunday I got my brothers ready for the church bus, wondering how a boy could have mocked a God and been stepped on so hard.

©Garland L. Young 1/12/2009