The Oldest of Five–well, that says quite a bit. I could be boss, babysitter, playmate, soloist.
Darryl and Kaye were best buds and played together all the time. I usually was a loner or babysitter from as early as I remember. I always wanted to play dolls, or play house, or with pets but Kaye and Darryl were always playing sports, rough-house games.
Kaye was born with solid intestines–that was the diagnosis is in 1946 in Sherman, TX. When she was 10 days old, according to mother, she was tied down to a board and quite a bit of her intestines were removed. She suffered with a horizontal scar her entire life. The percentage of her survival was almost nil. Darryl was sent to Gem and Dad in El Reno when Kaye was born while mother stayed with Kaye in the hospital. Daddy and I stayed together .That’s what I remember about Kaye’s birth.
When mother came home with Laura when we lived in Apache. There was a bedroom right off of the living room and mother came in and went straight to bed and when I got home from school she was holding Laura. When we moved to Cheyenne, I remember carrying Laura on my hip as we played outside. and I remember playing outside, but I do not remember much of the town–just playing outside all the time.
In retrospect, although I didn’t know at the time, mother wasn’t well (she had been cautioned not to have children–which of course, she ignored.)
In Mt. View, we played outside all the time. There was a big tree in our backyard with snarling roots above ground. I would smooth out the dirt between the roots and name each one a room–dining room, living room, kitchen, etc. I would spend hours playing house there–by myself.
Sam was born in Woodward when we lived in Buffalo. I do not remember mother being pregnant but I do remember Sam as a beautiful baby. Needless to say, I was given charge of him much of the time that I wasn’t in school.
