The first friend I ever had was my cousin Raymond.
He was seven years older than me and we were more like brother and sister instead of cousins.
His mother and my mother were sister's. They were living out of state when I was born but moved back to Arkansas not long after.
I was told that when they told Raymond that his Aunt Dorothy had another baby he asked if I were a boy or a girl? When told that I was a girl he said;" Go throw her in the lake!"lol....He wanted a boy cousin, and all through the years when he introduced me to someone he always said this is my "Girl Cousin".lol
I vaguely remember our first meeting. I know I was crawling and wouldn't leave Raymond alone. I remember hearing his mom tell him to set in the floor and play with me and be gentle. If they had only known how many times I would eventually cry out just to get him into trouble. I was down right ornery for a sweet little girl.
Raymond was at our house a lot while his mom worked, my mom watched us both. We played and and argued just like siblings.
Our mother's father {pawpaw} lived just across the street from us so me and Raymond would go over to pawpaw's house and play around him as he set in the old metal school bus seat he had underneath a huge Oak tree. We took turns setting in pawpaw's lap and talking to him. We made up stories and played cars, jacks, marbles, cowboys and indians too.
Then the day finally came in my own front yard that Raymond taught me to climb a tree. from that day on we were usually both perched up in that tree talking and I would set there and sing.
Once we had some cousins come to visit from California. Two little boys that were in between my and Raymond's age. They were down right mean. They started making fun of us calling us Hillbilly"s - they said we were barefoot and stupid!
Now we were Hillbilly"s and we were barefoot by choice...but we weren't stupid!
This was the first time that me and Raymond was forced to really bond on the same side, for the same reason. Taking up for each other in a way that would grow so strong in years to come.
To make matter's worse, our little cousins had them a B-B Gun... and that did it! Me and Raymond had us a private conversation.... we decided those boys were mean and we weren't gonna play with them "family or not". That's when it happened. They started shooting the pretty birds in mine and Raymond's climbing tree. They shot a pretty red robin and it made me cry.
Raymond had already hit that growth spurt some boys get before puberty. He wasn't a small boy. And he wasn't really over weight. He was just going to be a big strong tall man someday.
When Raymond seen that they had killed that red robin and made me cry he suddenly got a lot bigger than I had ever remembered him being. He suddenly over shadowed both of those boys and took their gun right out of their hands. They took off screaming to the house where their mother was, and Raymond was right behind them all the way. I was still standing there holding that dead red robin in my hand, crying and praying for God to make it come alive again. It was only a minute and all three boys were coming back from the house...no gun in sight, and Raymond behind them like he was herding cattle. one of the boys was carrying a shoe box. Both boys apologized to me and I made them ask God to forgive them for killing one of His pretty birds for no reason. They did. We put the bird in the box, they dug a hole and we all stood around and said a few words like the grown ups do at funerals on TV. Then we put the top on the box and buried the pretty red robin in the ground. Then the boy's mom came out and they all left...Me and Raymond climbed up in our tree and the only thing I remember us saying to each other was that we were so glad those mean cousins were gone. We just set in our tree for a long time not really talking, but we knew at that point we would always stick together through thick and thin no matter what. * 1st post of continuing memories of "Me And Raymond" - Check back later for more....
His mother and my mother were sister's. They were living out of state when I was born but moved back to Arkansas not long after.
I was told that when they told Raymond that his Aunt Dorothy had another baby he asked if I were a boy or a girl? When told that I was a girl he said;" Go throw her in the lake!"lol....He wanted a boy cousin, and all through the years when he introduced me to someone he always said this is my "Girl Cousin".lol
I vaguely remember our first meeting. I know I was crawling and wouldn't leave Raymond alone. I remember hearing his mom tell him to set in the floor and play with me and be gentle. If they had only known how many times I would eventually cry out just to get him into trouble. I was down right ornery for a sweet little girl.
Raymond was at our house a lot while his mom worked, my mom watched us both. We played and and argued just like siblings.
Our mother's father {pawpaw} lived just across the street from us so me and Raymond would go over to pawpaw's house and play around him as he set in the old metal school bus seat he had underneath a huge Oak tree. We took turns setting in pawpaw's lap and talking to him. We made up stories and played cars, jacks, marbles, cowboys and indians too.
Then the day finally came in my own front yard that Raymond taught me to climb a tree. from that day on we were usually both perched up in that tree talking and I would set there and sing.
Once we had some cousins come to visit from California. Two little boys that were in between my and Raymond's age. They were down right mean. They started making fun of us calling us Hillbilly"s - they said we were barefoot and stupid!
Now we were Hillbilly"s and we were barefoot by choice...but we weren't stupid!
This was the first time that me and Raymond was forced to really bond on the same side, for the same reason. Taking up for each other in a way that would grow so strong in years to come.
To make matter's worse, our little cousins had them a B-B Gun... and that did it! Me and Raymond had us a private conversation.... we decided those boys were mean and we weren't gonna play with them "family or not". That's when it happened. They started shooting the pretty birds in mine and Raymond's climbing tree. They shot a pretty red robin and it made me cry.
Raymond had already hit that growth spurt some boys get before puberty. He wasn't a small boy. And he wasn't really over weight. He was just going to be a big strong tall man someday.
When Raymond seen that they had killed that red robin and made me cry he suddenly got a lot bigger than I had ever remembered him being. He suddenly over shadowed both of those boys and took their gun right out of their hands. They took off screaming to the house where their mother was, and Raymond was right behind them all the way. I was still standing there holding that dead red robin in my hand, crying and praying for God to make it come alive again. It was only a minute and all three boys were coming back from the house...no gun in sight, and Raymond behind them like he was herding cattle. one of the boys was carrying a shoe box. Both boys apologized to me and I made them ask God to forgive them for killing one of His pretty birds for no reason. They did. We put the bird in the box, they dug a hole and we all stood around and said a few words like the grown ups do at funerals on TV. Then we put the top on the box and buried the pretty red robin in the ground. Then the boy's mom came out and they all left...Me and Raymond climbed up in our tree and the only thing I remember us saying to each other was that we were so glad those mean cousins were gone. We just set in our tree for a long time not really talking, but we knew at that point we would always stick together through thick and thin no matter what. * 1st post of continuing memories of "Me And Raymond" - Check back later for more....
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