Bumpkin

by Sharon Gray, JoDee Vale (Editor)

I would be asked or Tom would say, “Tell about the Hopi reservation.” or “Tell the story about the chickens on the couch.” or whatever the subject might be that came up. There were times when life got pretty unbearable but in anyone’s life, there are always a few good times if they look. We had some good times because us kids stuck together and stood up for each other when things got tough. We made good times doing things we could enjoy even when life in general was hard. The boys had the model railroad where they could escape. The girls had dolls and played house. I lost myself in housework but occasionally escaped to some quiet hideout I created somewhere. My most favorite was a creek when we lived out of Blocksburg, California. I like water and the babbling of the creek was calming. I was in my own little world hiding in the trees by the stream. I liked the river in Fort Seward,California, too. I still like water. Tom says my shoes always come off when I get close to water.

Bumpkin came to me as a title for this book because that is what Grandad called me. In a way I suppose my life fit that definition too, very unsophisticated rustic and at times awkward, a yokel for sure. Sometimes I think being naïve helped us survive. If we had known what was really being said we might have felt hurt more often.

Another thing that helped us survive, and probably the main thing, was our faith in God. Dad may have been very strict in his religion but out of that we learned to trust God for our food and health and, later in life, a lot of other things we needed after we grew up. I also learned (in Holbrook, Az) what happens when you leave God’s plan for you and go off on your own.

244 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 19, 2013