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Page 4 When we lived on Herendon Street, my oldest brother, Richard, decided that since Dad had no extra money to buy him a new bow and arrow he would just go out and make one. After all, we were used to cutting down switches of all types and all sizes. This was seemingly an innocent and good idea at the time. However, it almost caused a town riot. Richard went out back and got himself the biggest old hickory stick he could find and somehow managed to fashion it into a bow and arrow. He bent that hickory stick right back and coupled it with a nice tight piece of string that Mom gave him and made himself a pretty good bow with several other smaller hickory sticks serving as his arrows.
The whole little set looked quite professional. Mom made sure that Richard kept his arrows as blunt and dull as possible, although we knew he really wanted to sharpen them. Richard was very proud of his self designed new toy and carried it all about the neighborhood showing it to everybody, an all the other boys were jealous arid tried to copy his design, but not to the same technique and style that Rictiard had done. He was a genius at making toys for all of us.
One afternoon as we headed home from a morning of playing around in the neighborhood, Richard began his Robin Hood pursuit of Howard and myself. Howard was running real fast to keep up with me as we rounded the corner headed towards Irwin Street. That was right beyond the corner where the Texas Power and Light Company offices stood. We were just yelling and screaming and running like crazy cowboys or banshies into the night, only it was broad daylight. Suddenly, two white men came running out from the Power and Light Company screaming at Richard, "You badass boy, you better stop shooting them sticks at those children. Are you crazy? You’re going to hurt somebody. You’re going to put their eye out. Anyway, you’re too damn big to be messing with those little kids like that, you big bully."
Richard stopped dead in his tracks and yelled right back at them, "You need to mind your goddamn business, you two old pecker heads. These here are my brothers and I do with them as I please. Go away and leave us alone."
Richard was about 17 and thought himself quite manly. Although Howard was 11 and I was 13 at that time, we knew even then that Richard should not have gone that far with his mouth. But as usual, there was no stopping him. One of the men, the big fat one, leaned over and picked up two big red bricks, and let one of them fly at Richard, but it missed. Richard immediately drew back his bow and let an arrow fly. It didn't miss. Neither did the man's second brick.
Richard got hit right up side of his head. The blood started gushing out and as it ran down Richard's face he went plumb crazy and ran up to the other man and struck him over his back with the heavy hickory stick bow sending the man doubled over to his knees. The man yelled out in pain and Richard screamed to us, "Come on, come on, let's go. Carl, let's go. Howard, run, run." We took off running like you've never seen. The first man took off by himself trying to catch us, but he was so heavy we knew he'd never catch up with us. The other guy was still bent over, but then he too started running the best he could to catch up with us.
As we crossed over the railroad tracks and rounded the corner at Herndon Street, we started to pick up handfuls of rocks arid gravel from all around the train tracks. When the two men, who were by then actually gaining us, turned that corner, we all turned, all three of us, and we let our combination of rocks fly in their direction. They hit the men all around like little bullets and forced them to an immediate retreat. The men never could get to us because we wouldn’t allow them to advance. We kept pelting them with rocks and gravel as much as we could.
Someone, I don't know who, had called the police and they came right away. They saw the condition of Richard's head and as they were talking they said, "Who hit you in the head with the brick?" Richard said, "That man over there." The other police officer said, "That man said you hit him with a stick." Richard said, "I didn't hit him with a stick, I tried to kill that bastard since he tried to kill me with this brick."
The police officers put Richard in the back of the car and talked to him for a while. Finally, luckily, they let him out. After that we went running back to our little shotgun house. When Mama saw what had happened to Richard, she went crazy. She said, "Come on, children, every one of you get you a knife. Richard, do you know who hit you in the head?" Richard said, "Yes, I'll know him when I see him." She said, "Well, come on, I'm going over to that Power and Light Company right now. We all got ourselves a knife apiece and we marched up to the Texas and Power Light Company.
By that time, a crowd had started to gather behind us because they all had heard what had happened to Richard and that my mother was going to get this whole mess cleared up.
By the time we reached the Texas Power and Light Company, we had maybe a hundred people gathered behind us. When we got to the building nobody came out. My mother started screaming at the man who stood in the window, "Don't you ever put your hands on my son again or I'll kill you." And she went on and on. The police were called but nobody ever came out of the Texas Power and Light. Company and the police never said a word.
Finally, after Mom felt she had reached her satisfaction, we turned and all walked back home. The police could have taken us in. They could have brought Mama up on charges but it never happened.
A few days later Mom decided that it would be best to send Richard out of Texas because he was afraid of no one and was getting a little too tough to live in a town like Tyler. Mom was really afraid of what they might actually do to him one day. Besides we were the type of family that when you hit one of us you had to hit all of us. So Mom wisely sent Richard to Los Angeles, California. But just as soon as he arrived in California to live with our family there, World War Two broke out and Richard's papers from the War Department came by mail. Richard was inducted into the Army.
My mother, of course, thought it was really the best thing for him. Mom was a smart woman. She had a high school education but Daddy didn't. I don't really think my father actually knew how old he was. I don't think he had much schooling or any formal education at all. Mom read well, spelled well and spoke well. Her mathematics were good. She was so smart and she encouraged all of us children to get an education.
CHAPTER ONE
BLACK GOLD TEXAS TEA