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Several things worked in our favor —
Jennie, the principal nurse was good-natured; although she interfered
once in a while, there was never any venom in her approach. The other
nurse took care of the younger children and was far enough away not to
hear us, and even if she did, she was not responsible for the actions of
Mary, Teddy and myself unless they directly affected her per-
sonal comfort and safety; as for my mother, she was heavy-
footed and could be heard approaching from a long way off.
When someone announced, "Here comes Mama," it was a signal to get
into bed pronto and pretend to be asleep. If she suspected foul play and
began making accusations, the technique was to
sit up with a sudden jerk, as if awakened from deep slumber.
This was usually effective.
We always celebrated the fourth of July with firecrackers by
day and fireworks by night. First the flag had to be raised on
the tall flagpole which was topped with a golden ball, actually
a toilet ball that Eddie Green had decorated with gilt paint, but
you would never know it without being told. Once the flag was
up the air was filled with a volley of torpedos and firecrackers,
the supply of which was usually exhausted by mid-morning. We were never
allowed cap pistols. For some reason my father con-sidered them too
dangerous. In the evening as soon as darkness had set in, the firework
display began. It was held at the Love Lane end of our driveway
and was attended by our farm families and also by the Noltes who lived
across the street and who must have been a little concerned with the
rockets landing in their hayfield. Teddy and I were allowed to light the
fireworks, on the understanding that
we would run from them once the fuse began to sizzle. Even Roman
candles must be respected, and we |
