things I forgot in the book

There are so many things I forgot to put in the book. I should have mentioned that my mom cared for my aunt and uncle when she was 13 or 14 while my grandmother went to college, in town called Barberville. My mother would have to drag my aunt to their aunt's house ( Aunt Artie) to get her take a bath. I thought about how the movie would open. I wasn't thinking of it opening the way the book does.

I plan on the poem, "If" being read, and I would like to be the one to read it. I think will have a difficult time getting through it but I want to do it.

I was thinking that it would show my mom as a young person draggin my aunt to their aunt's house. First she will try it herself, saying, "Come on Maggie, you have to take a bath. Mama's going to be home soon and you have to get your bath." She'll drag Maggie to Artie's. It will be rural Kentucky and Artie will say, "Come on Maggie, let's get that bath." Maggie will be adiment, "I don't want to take a bath!"

Once, my grandmother told my mother to put oil in the old stove and it blew up in her face. My grandmother had to take her on the bus to the hospital and people on the bus kept asking my grandmother what happened to my mother. She had to wear bandages on her face during a whole hot summer. Amazingly, she didn't have any scars from the burns.

The day of or after my father died, there were two boys canoo-ing (mis spelling) in the Miami River, off of St. Rt, 73. One fell into the water and the other boy went in to save him. Both died. One is buried almost in front of my father and the stone has the inscription: Gave His Life For A Friend. My mother told me the story whenever she told me about how my dad died.

Once, my mother, my aunt ("Maggie), her daughter and I were in a mall. We went into a candy store, and I wanted the jelly beans with the unusual flavors. My aunt and cousin got some yogurt covered pretzles. I wanted some pretzles. My mother said I could share with my aunt and cousin. Well, I wasn't happy about that--I didn't want to share. My aunt and cousin had already paid for their things and asked me to walk out with them. I had the jelly beans in my hand and my mom was talking to the clerk at the counter. I had the jelly beans out like I was going to serve them and forgot that I was holding them. I started to walk out, and I heard, "CINDY! STOP! THEY'LL CATCH YOU FOR SHOPLIFTING!!" I stopped. I stopped in my tracks. Everyone in the store was looking at me. I went over to the counter and dropped the jelly beans and walked out. Tears welled up in my eyes and I cried as we all walked the mall. I was SO embarrassed. I couldn't understand why she just didn't come over and whisper it to me, "We need to pay for the jelly beans." She'd do that--all the time--yell my name out in the stores. She'd be in the women's section and I'd be in juniors across the way from each other, and she'd yell my name out.

"Cindy!"

She could be so funny and when she started laughing sometimes, she'd have a difficult time stopping. She had such a respect for humor. She loved to laugh. She loved things that were funny that you had to think about---She'd put her head down and then up again with her mouth open and teeth showing when she'd have a good laugh. Sometimes she'd hold her hands to herself, around her waist, like and wave her right hand.

Loved her.

Cindy