Clinging to Dad’s leg, he encouraged me but it wasn’t quite enough. My Kindergrten Teacher found  her way to get my attention elsewhere and Dad was finally able to sneak out. For me, this was the beggining of a long road Independance I wanted no part of.

My oldest sister who was sixteen when I was born was outgoing and had many friends who came ot visit. She had a flamboyant male friend I named "Nunt". I was smitten by Rick at the age of seven. I was oblivious to his gender preferance and didn’t care. He quietly dissapeared from my life as well as my sister when she moved up to Massachusetts to start a new life. 

My second oldest sister took nursing school, married a sailor and moved to California. But, during  the first part of her studies she lived with us and saved me from death. She had just turned off an electric skillet after making fried chicken. I was rolliong around the kichen on one rollerskate I had snuck from the closet. Standing next to the counter I started to slip finding the first thing I could to save my fall which was the cord to that skillet. Hot grease flew all over my upper chest and midsection. She quickly got me to the tub and soaked me in cold water.  She saved her first patient without even knowing it.

We lived in a northern suburb in Cincinnatti, Ohio, called Seven Hills. It was predominantly blacks by the time we relocated to a nice mobile home park on Hamilton at age seven.  My next oldest sister Gail, was my mentor.  Mom and Dad had me late in life so she was the next best person I could identify with.  I tried hard to hang out with her and be cool like she was even though she was eight years older.   I mostly liked to steal her clothes and write my name in her books.  She was with us for a few years there and naturally found love and moved out.