This book is about the first seventeen years of my life. I am seventy-two now but remember everything as though it happened yesterday. I want to thank Fulton Books for their support of me and the opportunity to write all this down. Now I can start to forget, at least partially. I will remember my love of flowers and birds and God, who made all things.

We had moved to Francis, a small town close to Palatka, Florida. By this time, there were three children in our family. Our parents had not told us they were going anywhere. One day, they just left us with the two aunts and uncles in Ocala. I am not sure if they even told them where they were going except that they would be back in a couple of days. They were actually gone and missing for almost a month. By that time, my aunts were getting worried and were ready to send the police to round them up.

I stayed with Myrtle. Frank and Beth, my sister, stayed with Aunt Margerite. Some of my cousins may know, but otherwise, it is a mystery to both of us where they went. They left no food or money. Anyway, Paul and Vivian were gone for a long time, and it is still, to this day, a mystery.

I got to know Aunt Myrtle and her son, Roger, a little better. Myrtle appeared to be a godly woman. She went to church and took Roger to church anytime the doors were open. Myrtle was adamant that Roger go to church and learn how to play the piano. She had someone come to give him lessons every week. She made Roger go to church and practice the piano for an hour every day. Roger learned to play beautifully but hated the piano and church, but he had no choice in the matter.

On the other hand, I loved the piano and desperately wanted to learn how to play. This piano was an old-timey piano that had belonged to my grandmother, who had given it to my mother. My mother moved around a lot, so she had given it to Myrtle. Also, once she married, she lost interest in it. My aunts both said my mother could play beautifully. They told me that she had played for church, but when she refused to join the church, they would not let her play anymore.

One day, Roger had finished his lesson. I was trying to play a song I had heard when Myrtle came in and, without warning, slammed the handle that closed ten piano down on my hands. It really hurt. From that day forward, I realized how jealous she was of me, and I avoided her. We never had any kind of relationship after that.

Finally, my parents returned with no explanation of why they had left or where they had gone. It was always my feeling that they wanted a "vacation" from kids. They felt that raising kids was like a jail sentence.