Nine Lives and Counting

It was the year of '59 and it was time for me to leave the little dusty town of Muldrow and head out to the big city to make a new life.  I was an excellent typist in school and loved office work and knew that was just what I wanted to do.  After all, Ann Sothern, Private Secretary (1953-1957), was my inspiration.  I wanted my own typewriter, desk, and to wear those white blouses and full black taffeta skirts.  So I enrolled in business school and headed out to Tulsa on a bus with my grandmother to sign up at the business college.  I don't think Gran would ever have let me leave if it had not been for the fact that one of my Gran's twin daughters lived in Tulsa and she felt I would have a family member there if I needed help.

My Grandfather had suffered a heart attack in my junior or senior year of high school, retired from the County,and no longer drove the big yellow tractor.  He gave up fox hunting and the hound dogs had been sold.  My grandparents were getting older, they were no longer able to keep up the big garden, so they sold the land to a cousin of my Grandpa's who built a nice house on it.  The dog kennels were torn down, the black iron kettle rusting and no longer used, Sheena of the Jungle had long since put away her slingshot, and there were no more kitties or even fullgrown cats anymore since the mama cat finally died.  The dolls had been buried for some time now, and the paper dolls were thrown in the trash and burned.  Ricky Nelson's pictures were removed from the bedroom and replaced with Elvis pictures, but they were also removed after I left.   It was time to go and leave those childhood things behind. 

After I left, my grandparents didn't have me around anymore to keep them young and interested in goings-on, so they seemed to age much faster.  I visited when I could, but I didn't have a car for a couple of years and would ride a bus home to visit them.  I didn't like riding the bus--there were too many stops, I had to go downtown Tulsa  to catch the bus, which was usually at night, and by the time I got to Muldrow, there was no one to meet me because they didn't keep the phone after I left, so I had to walk a mile from the bus stop to the house.  The town didn't have any taxi cabs then and probably still doesn't.   I never encountered any problems, however--it was a little safer back then in the 60's, even in downtown Tulsa after dark.  Department stores and corner drugstores were open late and people were always on the streets going to eat or to the movies downtown. 


Grandma & Grandpa in Nursing Home

After about three or four years after I moved away, my grand-parents moved into a nursing home because they were unable to care for themselves.  They liked it at first, but their health continued to deteriorate.  John Wesley Riddle, my paternal grandfather, died on May 10, 1962. I continued to visit my Grandmother as often as I could over the next couple of years.  My paternal grandmother, Jean Ella Doyle Riddle died on September 15, 1964.  I spent many hours with both of them in the hospital sitting by their bed watching them take their last breath and it was very sad for me.  I had never lost anyone before and it was very difficult to see them die that way.

 It was especially difficult for me when my Grandfather died because I loved him dearly.  He was always a quiet, gentle man, except for the time when he practically threw a boy I was dating out of the house.  Grandpa had been sitting on the porch and suddenly walked inside only to find me sitting on Benny's lap.  Poor Benny!  I never saw him again--at least not for a while!  It was the middle of the day and Grandmother was on one of her treks to the store.  She asked what happened mato Benny but Grandpa never told her anything--he just said he had to leave. They were very protective of me--a little bit too much.  Benny and I did get together later on, and we corresponded after he joined the Army and stationed in Alaska. 

That's another interesting story --I had two boyfriends in Alaska, stationed at the same place and at the same time.  Benny was the "former" boyfriend, and Jerry was the "current" boyfriend, and they met one day.  Of course, they would meet--they were both from the same city, Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and they had something in common besides living in the same town--ME! 

Then there was the time when I was dating Mickey, the football player from Sallisaw.  We had a date one night and because he had football practice, he had to shower and drive 10 miles to Muldrow, so it was after dark, probably 8:00 or later by the time he arrived, and Grandmother sent him away.  She told him that if he couldn't come at a decent time to take her granddaughter on a date, then he had to leave.  He tried to explain but she wouldn't listen.  I was heart-broken over that incident too, and very embarrassed.  Maybe that's why I didn't have many dates in high school--they were afraid of my Grandparents! 

That's okay, Grandma and Grandpa, I know that you only meant well and were always looking out for me.  I know that you are there in Heaven still looking out for me, and I love you and thank you for the sacrifices you made for me.   I'll never forget what you did for me.

Dressed up for Church