November 6th, 1963

   It was now November 6th, 1963 mom was in labor again having another child. This was her 6th child.
   Mom's health wasn't as bad as they thought it would be but she was told NO MORE CHILDREN her body needed a much deserved rest. The baby was born another Girl on Nov,6th 1963, her name was Tammy Jo. She was a cute small little girl. That made 5 girls and 1 boy, poor Timmy. He was 12 now and didn't have any friends in the neighborhood. He had to play with the kids next door and he didn't like them much. Mom did let him hang out with the football players that practiced in the field behind the house.
    On, Nov.22, 1963 I remember walking into the living room of the house and looking at my crying mother on the sofa , "what's wrong mommy, " I asked feeling so sad for her..." President Kennedy was shot and he's dead!!' She cried. I started to laugh, really hard, I remember thinking, why would she cry over a man she didn't know?
     "Stop laughing!!! what's wrong with you, a man died and now his 2 kids don't have a father.!!!!" I felt awful that I laughed, and his poor kids. I never talked about this until years later. I wasn't laughing because he died, I just thought my mom was silly.
    Christmas was exciting as always, Linda would always get us singing Christmas carol's, while we trimmed the tree. Barb, Linda's friend moved in with us for awhile she left home because of her dad, not sure why. I don't remember, but it was really fun, it was like having another sister.
    Barb, Tim and Linda had to keep the house clean, certain rooms were theirs. Swept, and mopped. If they didn't they were grounded.
     My mom was ironing one day, I asked if I could help, she lowered the temperature of the iron and lowered the ironing board and gave me a stool, she gave me washcloths and handkerchiefs, and tea towels to iron. I loved it! I would have stood there forever.
     Mom and dad sent us to bed, Christmas Eve was already here and we had to go to bed for Santa , Barbie and I weren't tired but we tried to go to sleep. We heard a noise so we got up to go look and see what it was. In a box there were presents wrapped beautiful with bows and I seen a small ironing board and an iron just my size. I knew it had to be for me, but Santa wasn't there so were did all the stuff come from? My dad turned and We thought he saw us, so we quickly went back to bed. We were glad  he didn't see us. We fell asleep. It was Christmas Day and we were opening gifts, I was looking for my ironing board and iron but there wasn't one. I was so disappointed. When I got older I asked my mom what happened to it and she told me that if you see your gifts before your supposed to they disappear. I guess I should have stayed in bed.
   Winter came and went, Summer was back again, Barbie and I were playing with the neighbor kids,
    My mom came rushing out of the house and jumped into a cab, my dad had fallen off a ladder at work and broke his heel, he would be out of work and on crutches for a bit. He was miserable. He wasn't used to being home all day doing nothing and not with all of us kids.
    For some reason the air smelled bad, Barbie and I decided to investigate and find out why there was such a terrible smell. We started in the back yard, walked through the thick bushes, lilac bushes but because it was summer there weren't any blooming. There were lots of them along the back of the neighbors yard. Nothing! Next yard. As we approached the next yard the smell got a little stronger and we saw droplets of blood on the sidewalk. As we got closer we saw a tree stump that was really bloody and blood all over the ground, I was scared and I got closer to Barbie, I was going to whisper to her but I couldn't get a sound out. We tip toed slowly to the yard and then we saw feathers,( they were killing chickens for food, you could do that then, they broke the neck of the chicken and then chopped off it's head).The suspense was killing me so I turned and ran. A few minutes later Barbie was right behind me. I never told a single person about that day. In my young mind I thought some body had been killed and if I told I might be next. Maybe it was because of the blood all over Renee's house and then this, ok face it I was just a big chicken.
    Sometime before my dad got his cast off, us kids were playing in the yard and I was using a lightweight  small pipe to practice baton twirling, I wanted to be leader of a band a twirl the baton in a parade. My mom had talked about how she was once Miss Flame and rode a float because of her red hair, she was chosen by the firefighters from the station she lived by.
    Anyway I tossed it up and I missed it and hit one of the neighbor girls from down the black and she ran home and told her mom. I was so scared when my dad asked me about it I lied. Said it wasn't me, besides she wasn't hurt that bad. I didn't even see any blood.
   Later that night I was taking a bath and Barb came running in the bathroom, " Jeannie get outside a man has dad by his shirt and says if he doesn't find out what happened to his daughter he was going to beat dad up!!! Go tell  the truth.". I cried. I didn't want to go tell him anything, I put on my pajamas and slippers and I walked out side the porch door, the man had my poor dad with his broken foot in a cast up against the porch railing so he couldn't move. " You better let go of my dad mister," Linda yelled to him. "And what do you think your going to do little lady?, He asked Linda."If  you touch him in anyway to hurt him, Your going to be one sorry man. I'll hit you with this hammer, My brother has a pipe, my mom has a bottle and believe me we'll all use them before you can do a thing!!" Linda warned him. I wanted to say, "let go of my dad it was all my fault but it was an accident," I was too scared to move. Linda then said," If Jeannie did hit your daughter I promise you she didn't mean to, Jeannie just wouldn't do that," The large man lowered my dad, fixed his shirt and apologized. He had been drinking and was told I hit her to be mean, and he never thought  it might have been an accident. He never came back again and neither did his kids.
     It was the last family camp of the summer and turned out to be the last one for us ever.
   We had so much fun sitting around the camp fire and singing the Camp Manakiki theme song.
     I fished, I did crafts we played family bingo and I won a huge Slow Poke sucker. It would take days to eat it all. I went swimming and played capture the flag.
    Linda didn't go she wanted to stay home alone and said she could be trusted. NOT. Linda had a party and it got out of hand, the police were called and mom and dad had to go get her in the middle of the night along with her friend Barb. We woke up and Linda was on a cot dress with men work boots on and she smelled awful, Barb was on the floor sleeping. Boy, were they in trouble. We had to leave camp early and when we got home they had to clean the house from top to bottom there was sticky beer on the floor and food every where. I saw Linda scrubbing the floor on her hands and knees and Barb was washing walls, Judy came to help and Darrell was there cleaning I'm not sure but I think Cindy showed up to help and before it was all done mom had half of South High school graduating class there helping to clean up.
    I was so glad that summer was over.It was going to be Linda's graduating year so mom really made her work, she had been such a good student, but now here grades were falling. What did you expect. Helping take care of kids and mom was sick off and on and Linda cleaning house it was too much for 17 year old girl. Linda was fast approaching 18 and couldn't wait. She was going to get a job and move. As soon as she could.