Well this is my day and I can't keep thinking about them old boys I'm just going to enjoy my day of no chores and maybe even having my favorite food for supper.

Momma smiled at me when I came into the kitchen, without thinking I started helping her do the lunch pails for school, she was trying to do them, take care of the baby and cook breakfast, no matter how hard I tried not to help, I just had too, special day or not.

She looked at me and said "why don't you ride the bicycle to school today", I swelled up with happiness, Momma never said thank you for helping, it was just part of life, everyone did their part. I knew this was her way of saying she appreciated what I did, if I didn't get my favorite food or anything else, she had just given me the best present of my life.

School was fun on your birthday the teacher always called out your name to the class and wished us A happy birthday, I just wished I could tell them how special it was. The pretty little blonde headed girl in my class grinned at me, she was the prettiest thing I had ever seen, she looked like the china dolls we saw in the windows of stores and catalogs. I didn't know her well, so the smile meant A lot to me. I was very little and plain, I wondered sometime if I would ever find A man that would marry me and give me some babies of my own. I knew the little blonde girl wouldn't have any problems getting married.

When the bell rang for us to go, I grabbed my lunch pail and headed for the door couldn't wait to go run and play in the field. I paddled just as fast as I could hoping the boys didn't catch up and spoil my day. This time I won, I got to the field of wild flowers and dropped the bicycle and ran right out in the middle of them I went around and around until the sky was moving with me, I fell to the ground trying to stop it from moving, I wanted to look up into the sky and see what I could find in the clouds. I saw A big old fluffy dog, cats and trees, I was watching the fluffy dog disappear as it went away, it started building something new for me to watch, it started as A little head then became A small little boy, smiling down from the sky, the tears was sliding down my cheek now, I thought that it was Tiny looking down and smiling at me. I guess with the boys, chores and new baby girl I had managed to block Tiny from my mind, his smile and big eyes was watching me run and play and I cried. I missed him so much, of all the boys he had been the very best, he was quite like Dennis,Robert and J.T. (John Toy Sr.) were the ones that gave Momma and Dad fits, Tiny was born in 1915 he was such A good baby and quite, he would just sit on his pallet for hours and play till his little eyes would get so heavy he couldn't hold them open anymore. I was 6 years old and he seemed like A little boy doll not like the other boys, they were never still, J.T. he was always into something he shouldn't be and it had got him into lots of trouble, even though he was just 4 or 5 years old, can't remember which he was always going down to the old dump looking for stuff, well he came in one day with his arms loaded with junk, Momma just smiled at him, we always said he didn't know what the sky looked like cause he walked with his head down he thought he would find A penny or something someone had lost. Well he usually did. On this day he went to the fireplace and sit down in front of it to play with what he called his treasure, it wasn't nothing but old junk, just don't try and tell him that. Momma walked back into the kitchen to finish up supper I was watching the baby, seems like that is all I did was sit and watch babies if it was Tiny that was OK though. The house seem quiter than usual or maybe that is what it seem like after the explosion, what J.T. had found that day was some dynamite caps, he got the hammer and smashed one on the hearth, his scream and the explosion was so loud at first I though the house had blown up. Momma came running into the sitting room, I was just staring, blood was pouring from his hand or arm, I couldn't tell which. Momma was very calm she looked at me and said "Get some clean cloth for bandages, Dennis go get the doctor fast, then go for your Father and get them here at once", Dennis didn't look back he was running fast as the wind. Momma took the cloth from me and tore it in strips, then she tied one above his elbow and the rest she put around his hand, I was beginning to realize what was happening, she told me to stay back and just take care of Tiny, Robert was white as A ghost and he was up close and could see what had happened, they made fun of J.T. for dragging in stuff from the dump, but they always like to enjoy his bounty. I still didn't know what had happened. Just knew there was blood everywhere, Momma was holding him close to her chest and praying, through it all she stayed calm, I had started shaking all over, Momma told me everything was going to be OK and for me and Robert to just calm down, J.T. would be fine right. The doctor and Dad got there about the same time, the old doctor told Momma she had saved his life, with out the tourniquet he would have lost far to much blood. He did lose two whole fingers and over half of two others he was lucky that he didn't lose his whole hand.

When the doctor had finished fixing his hand up in real bandages and left, Dad was given him A what do you think you were doing sermon at the top of his voice. I knew he was just upset and didn't mean what he was saying. He told J.T., "I told you over and over to stay out of that dump, now maybe you will since two of your fingers will be there now". Momma finally got him to stop hollering and fussing so loud, I was just glad like Momma that he had only lost some fingers and not his life, Dad wanted to know how he though he would earn A living or eat his food since he like to eat almost as much as he liked to go down to that old dump. I guess J.T. had just enough of Dad in him to not let the loss of his fingers get in his way. He learned to use that numb of A hand for more than eating and working, he use it like A weapon, he could hit hard with it and didn't mind using it on anyone that got in his way. I got me more than one good licking with it and so did the other boys. I was just glad he could do what he could with it, he never used it for an excuse for not doing his part, he was way to stubborn to let Dad win. Momma was A strong women to handle the accident and Dad the way she did, I saw A strength in her that day that was amazing. When Grandpa Johnson got through with J.T. I didn't think he would ever go digging in that old dump again it didn't stop him nor did it stop him from teaching the other kids to go and find goodies for themselves, he still walked with lowered head looking for what was or could be found on the ground.

Being very young I though nothing worse than that could ever happen to us, oh how wrong I was. In the fall of 1918 we all came down with the measles, Momma had her hands full, the boys were much sicker than I and they complained all the time about not feeling good and wanting water cause they were so hot and dry. Tiny was the sickest of all of us and he just seem like he didn't have the strength to hold his eyes open. Dad helped as much as he could, even Grandpa Johnson was willing to help out some. We were all getting better except Tiny and he seem to grow worse each day. The doctor came and checked him out, I saw him shaking his head, I guess I was just to young to understand what was happening, I knew their was another baby on the way and that Momma looked awful tired and I wasn't much help to her. Dad walked outside with the doctor and Momma took Tiny out of the bed and sit down and begin to rock him, she was singing very softly as she held him to her breast, tears were quietly running from her eyes and off her cheek, she didn't bother to wipe them away, she just let her dress get all wet with tears. She just rocked and sang to him, holding him so close I though she would surly smother him to death.

We all went to bed hearing Momma's soft voice singing quietly to Tiny, Dad was sitting like he didn't know what was going on and I think Grandpa Johnson even had some tears in his eyes. When the sun came in through the window telling me it was time to get up, I could still hear Momma singing softly I put on my dress and shoes and went to the sitting room, Dad was up and still sitting in the same place, Grandpa Johnson must have gone on off to bed he wasn't to be seen. Momma had me bring her some water and she would wet the rags and wash Tiny's little head and neck, then she would rock and sing, this went on for most of the day, I had fixed us some bread, butter and milk, Momma and Dad wouldn't eat anything, she just sit with the tears running off her face. On up in the day she got up from the rocking chair and laid Tiny on the bed, she wiped her eyes and said he is gone. I didn't understand, he hadn't gone any where, he was on the bed asleep, Dad had tears running down his face. Momma just looked at him and said "there's nothing more we can do, no crying now, he is with the Lord and we did all we could while he was with us, now we have to get him ready and go on with our lives".

Momma took time to explain that Tiny had died and gone to heaven to live with Jesus and be happy forever and that it wasn't any reason to cry now, he wasn't sick or hurting any more, he was running and playing in green pastures. I didn't want Tiny up in the sky I wanted him here with us. Momma just said "things happen that is not in our control, God has his reason for everything. Some day we will understand". She put her hand on her stomach where the new baby was growing and said every thing has A purpose, Tiny's life might have been short, yet he filled our heart with love. Once Tiny was buried we didn't talk about it anymore.