Page 161 - my-people-abbie-harris-beck

to throw the ice cycles on it. So much fun. Then we had a week to wait for Santa. We
never had a tree before about a week because it would die and it might start a fire.
The house had been remolded, but all the fireplaces were still in every room, but by
now not used. The bats would find their way out once in a while and trying to get them
out of the house or down form the high ceilings was terrifying to me. I was deathly afraid
ofbats.
The junction was a place mother and daddy took us a couple of times at the point
for a picnic. It had white sand and usually a cool breeze. I did not know that it existed.
It was a place never to go to. It was dangerous. I think the next time I visited the
junction was in 1970's when I came for a River Festival.
When I was 6, brother Warren was born. He was like my baby. I got to hold him
and give him a bottle. He was so happy. He had asthma and infantile eczema. Mother
would not let me hold him while he was sick. She had to rock him a lot and he got to
sleep in their room. I couldn't wait to get home so I could play with him.
While we lived on main street, the United States declared war. I remember the
adults at the radio and seeing the newspaper with the headlines that the Japs had bombed
Pearl Harbor. Of course I did not know where Pearl Harbor was, but I hated them
because we had to turn the lights off at night for blackouts. That is when I wanted a
flashlight of my own. I hated to turn the lights out and pull the shades down. They even
turned out the street lights. It was dark, dark, dark. Then the households in the
neighborhood became silent and talk sad. Everyone was thinking and whispering, so the
children could not hear, that he or he or might have to go. Go where I thought. Then
mother and daddy were sad. Daddy was going to have to go to war. I was scared. I did
not want my daddy to leave. I did not know what the war w as, but it was going to make
daddy go away. I cried a lot. More after he left.
On main street we learned the Army songs and sang "When the Caisson go Rolling
Along", Over There", and we learned God Bless America. We sang on the front porch
and up and down the sidwalks. When Daddy got to California on his way to the
Philippines, he visited with Aunt Maye and Uncle Ed. He said he froze to death in July in
San Francisco.

Our house on Main Street was just wasn't the same, now talk about when the war
would be over and all would come home. I just wanted my daddy to come home. He
wrote me letters and they were special. He always asked me to be sweet and help mother.
During this time, Granddaddy Beck would come by often. I remember him bringing
butter. Grandmother Eliza would come and try to get me to try on dresses that she made
me. I remember they were organdy and so scratchy.
At last daddy was back and life seemed to return to normal. Our house had
several weddings through the years. Mother and daddy had a big family dinner when the
Beck Twins returned form the war. James had been shot down in the Mediterranean and
captured by the Italians, but had escaped when the Germans took over the prisoners. We
were sent to bed and the adults told war stories. I hid behind the door and listened to all
the stories. I learned words like Europe, Italy and escape. Mother set up bridge tables in
the big dinning room so everyone could be seated. Mother made hot tamales and we had
sweet pickles. All daddy's cousins were there. It was a happy time.