want none of that, said she wasn’t no child. She was proving that! Sho was! I helped her all I could.
Now, Letta had helped her mama work, cookin, sewing, and washing, so she just kept doin these things and she took to doin hair in her kitchen for a few friends and so she was able to make it. She sold some of their things what was valuable to them, watches, clothes they was never goin to use again, the piano, things like that. But not her mama’s wedding ring. She used to get so mad and frustrated and she would cry! Chile, there wouldn’t be nothin to eat! But she never sold that ring, it stayed right on her mother’s finger! Said, “my mama got to have something!” Well, they did have something! Her!!
I don’t have to tell nobody who ever worked for money for a livin, how hard it can get to keep goin on. Letta suffered plenty hardships and went without almost everything! Some days, she didn’t eat, but mama and daddy did! Many a night she didn’t sleep, just tossed, cried at first, but finally just tossed and thought … hard. No candles or electric lights at night … save that money! Don’t burn that little bit of firewood, go to bed and cover up. She could sew, but couldn’t sew for herself, so her clothes got pretty full of thin places and she was still growing. Some of her oldfriends, the stupid ones, laughed at her when they see her in them clothes, glad to see her not lookin so cute anymore. She would get so disgusted, but I never did see her get mean and bitter. She just try to keep carry in on … and she did. Things got better over the years tho. Now I say that and the sayin goes so quick! To say “a year” takes less than a second I bet, and for Letta, a year, each year, took 365, 24-hour days. Long years.
Letta’s sewing got mighty fine and the best people used her, and I mean USED her. They paid her half of what it should have cost, but they knew she needed whatever she could get, so that’s what they paid her, whatever they could get away with. And her bakin stuff she was turnin out was truly beautiful to see and sho nuff good to taste! She had taken them tools her mama-dear had given her and turned them into blessings and a full way! She was a full provider long before she was 20 years old.
I had done got married bout that time and had two little sweet children I was raisin. They so sweet when they little! Me and my husband bought a little land and we builded a little house with our own hands. I loved my home and, come to think of it, Letta even came over there once to give us a hand on our house! She was somethin! Call me Ms. Admirer cause I sure admired her!
Some mens did too, but when they come over to her house and see those two skeleton-like bodies sittin there all day and her fixin for them and them just staring and sometimes droolin, well you can’t catch everything right away, you know? Well, they just lost heart or never had it in the first place, I guess. Mens! They want to “fool” around, say that’s what she need to relax her body! But she didn’t want none of that! She say she did WANT it but not that way, cause one more mouth to feed by herself, and she would kill everything in that house! Letta had to be more tired than even I thought cause Letta had a good heart, not mean at all and wouldn’t just ordinary think of killin! Anyway, theynever got married to her, so she was alone … that kinda alone … man and woman kind.
Well bout 25 years or so after the “accident,” Letta’s mama died quiet in her sleep and Letta didn’t say it was a relief or not. Just hugged and rocked her mama til they took her away, then she put her mama’s wedding ring on a chain and put it round her neck. I said, “Why don’t you wear it on your finger?” I didn’t add the rest of what I was thinkin bout she wasn’t never going to get one of her own, but that’s what I thought … she was bout 40 then, or more! She told me, “No! I want my own weddin ring on my
Now, Letta had helped her mama work, cookin, sewing, and washing, so she just kept doin these things and she took to doin hair in her kitchen for a few friends and so she was able to make it. She sold some of their things what was valuable to them, watches, clothes they was never goin to use again, the piano, things like that. But not her mama’s wedding ring. She used to get so mad and frustrated and she would cry! Chile, there wouldn’t be nothin to eat! But she never sold that ring, it stayed right on her mother’s finger! Said, “my mama got to have something!” Well, they did have something! Her!!
I don’t have to tell nobody who ever worked for money for a livin, how hard it can get to keep goin on. Letta suffered plenty hardships and went without almost everything! Some days, she didn’t eat, but mama and daddy did! Many a night she didn’t sleep, just tossed, cried at first, but finally just tossed and thought … hard. No candles or electric lights at night … save that money! Don’t burn that little bit of firewood, go to bed and cover up. She could sew, but couldn’t sew for herself, so her clothes got pretty full of thin places and she was still growing. Some of her oldfriends, the stupid ones, laughed at her when they see her in them clothes, glad to see her not lookin so cute anymore. She would get so disgusted, but I never did see her get mean and bitter. She just try to keep carry in on … and she did. Things got better over the years tho. Now I say that and the sayin goes so quick! To say “a year” takes less than a second I bet, and for Letta, a year, each year, took 365, 24-hour days. Long years.
Letta’s sewing got mighty fine and the best people used her, and I mean USED her. They paid her half of what it should have cost, but they knew she needed whatever she could get, so that’s what they paid her, whatever they could get away with. And her bakin stuff she was turnin out was truly beautiful to see and sho nuff good to taste! She had taken them tools her mama-dear had given her and turned them into blessings and a full way! She was a full provider long before she was 20 years old.
I had done got married bout that time and had two little sweet children I was raisin. They so sweet when they little! Me and my husband bought a little land and we builded a little house with our own hands. I loved my home and, come to think of it, Letta even came over there once to give us a hand on our house! She was somethin! Call me Ms. Admirer cause I sure admired her!
Some mens did too, but when they come over to her house and see those two skeleton-like bodies sittin there all day and her fixin for them and them just staring and sometimes droolin, well you can’t catch everything right away, you know? Well, they just lost heart or never had it in the first place, I guess. Mens! They want to “fool” around, say that’s what she need to relax her body! But she didn’t want none of that! She say she did WANT it but not that way, cause one more mouth to feed by herself, and she would kill everything in that house! Letta had to be more tired than even I thought cause Letta had a good heart, not mean at all and wouldn’t just ordinary think of killin! Anyway, theynever got married to her, so she was alone … that kinda alone … man and woman kind.
Well bout 25 years or so after the “accident,” Letta’s mama died quiet in her sleep and Letta didn’t say it was a relief or not. Just hugged and rocked her mama til they took her away, then she put her mama’s wedding ring on a chain and put it round her neck. I said, “Why don’t you wear it on your finger?” I didn’t add the rest of what I was thinkin bout she wasn’t never going to get one of her own, but that’s what I thought … she was bout 40 then, or more! She told me, “No! I want my own weddin ring on my
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