My father was always traveling around. My mother took in washing and ironing for people. My mother had six children by my father. She was busy!

My father didn’t drink, but he gambled. He always dreamed of making a fortune. He’d get a little money, and then take off and gamble it away.

One time, we got a letter from him while he was in Texas. He wrote a little poem that went like this:

Roses are red, violets are blue
Send me $10.00 and I will owe you.

My mother sent back a palm that said this:

Roses are red, and sometimes pink.
Send you $10.00, I don’t think!

When I was about three years old my mother finally divorced my father.