Sisters

 SISTERS ARE SPECIAL

My mom and dad were both only children and said they were so lonely growing up. The closest neighbors were several miles away, and they had no one to play with. I think that’s one reason they had nine children!

I was a dreamer and lived in my own little imaginary world. My two sisters were a few years older than me. I’m sure as the little sister, I was a “nuisance”!

My dad was drafted into the Army when I was just a few months old, and the family felt sorry for me not having my dad around and gave in to my every whim. When he came home from Germany, he did the same. (I'm sure I milked it. lol)

I remember moving a block away from Grim Street to Jackson Street on College Hill. Walking across the vacant lot with my two sisters, I took my life’s possessions ... a doll and a china tea set! I was only five years old, but my memory etched it vividly in my mind, and I treasure those childhood memories with them!

My older sister, Nona, played the clarinet for the Arkansas High School Band. In 1950, she and several other girlfriends in the band practiced their routine in front of our house for majorette tryouts.

I marched with them to an imaginary drummer up and down Jackson Street, and pretended to be a drum major. I used a long stick for my baton and a green cap my mother knitted for my headpiece. I took a flower from a crepe myrtle tree in the front yard for my plume. 

Those were the “good ole days” when we played outside and were creative.

When my brother-in-law was in Greenland serving with the Air Force, my sister and nephew moved to Texarkana. She had a 1949 standard shift Buick and taught me how to drive when I was 13. She would let me use her car to pick up an item she needed.

My sisters and mom were excellent seamstresses and taught me how to sew. I entered a 4-H competition in 5th grade and won first place. They showed me how to put several patterns together and create a unique design. In my next life, I want to be a fashion designer.

My sister Racine’s husband, James, worked at the Texarkana Gazette after they married and loved to tease me. I’m sure he would have many stories to tell, but I’m glad he brought Odis home for supper and introduced us.

My five brothers were special too, but that is for another blog!

*Clips are from Growing Up In The Fifties, a short story by Suzie Tyler, available on Amazon.

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