Starch, dresses and fighting....

I came over to Baton Rouge Wednesday. I thought I had packed everything, but, I didn't. I had no books and only some of my clothes. So, I have had to re-read a few books. Right now, I am reading To Kill A Mockingbird again for the umpteenth time. I love this book. Of course it reminds me of when I was a child.

I was such a tomboy. I wanted to wear pants all the time. But, I had to wear the horribly itchy-scratchy dresses my step-grandmother made for me. She was also my mother's father's sister, so she was Aunt Leathy to us. Aunt Leathy made the dresses with a lot of skirt and sashes. My mother then starched the heck out of them. This was when people made the starch. The waists, well, the waist seams, were so scratchy. It was torment. I took every opportunity to destroy those dresses. I guess that I did not realize that Aunt Leathy would just make more. I used to stuff the skirts down into a pair of my brothers pants...........dungarees....and tried to slip past my mother and wear them to school. Never happened.

I used to have a terrible temper that was barely under control. I would fight at the first smallest hint of an insult. And, lord help you if you dared do anything to my brother. I hit a kid at school once, I was in the third grade, and bloodied his nose. I can't remember what he had done, but he shouldn't have done it. I used to get into fights at recess. I would get mad, fly off the handle and then hit someone dead on the nose. Then, I would run......just to get them to chase me......and suddenly drop to the ground and roll into a ball. The kid chasing me would trip and go flying. I was a devil. And, I was small of my age. I was very skinny and shorter than most of the other kids. I used that to my advantage.

Usually, one of my older brothers would come to school to get me and walk me home. Well, me and my brother, Wayne. One day my oldest brother came walking towards me down the hall, but, just passed me right on by. I figured he was mad about something.......I tried to terrorize them too at home......so, I just kept walking. All of a sudden, just as I got close to the front door, he grabbed me by the shoulder. I looked at him like he had lost his mind. He looked at me like he wanted to laugh. Finally, he asked me who I had gotten into a fight with that day. I thought he was a mind reader. But, I was admitting to nothing. Then, he told me that he had not recognized me at first. I had on one of those horrible starchy dresses, and had been in another fight and my dress received some damage. One sash had been torn off so I took the other one and wrapped it around my waist and tied it in back. The collar had been ripped off. It was dirty. I was dirty. When we got home my mother looked at me and almost started crying. She said what she always said..........'I waited and waited to have a girl and look at you....'

I went into the bathroom and took off the horrid dress and put on a pair of Wayne' pants, took the torn off sash and used it for a belt and went out to ride my second oldest brother's horse.