I have two older sisters that now mean the world to me. As a child, well... let's just say we were typical siblings. They tortured me and I destroyed as much of their property as I could get away with. Pam, my older sister was the pride of Audrey Harvey, better known as Granny. The high school Queen and beautiful! It's ok for me to say she was beautiful now since I'm a grown man, but during my younger days, she was the monster in each of my nightmares. My tortures began each morning with shaving cream in my face or crawdeads in my bed. Audra would tag along more for the excitement than anything. She wasn't just my sister, she was my friend. My only friend. Audra and I got into more trouble together than the law allowed, but somehow we both turned out pretty good.

 

Granny had raised Pam and Audra. They were 100% country girls. They were, by definition, famous within a 3 county radius. Pam was famous because of Granny, Audra because of Pam and me, well, because I was related to just about everybody within a one hundred mile radius! I was known as the outcast. "The troubled woman's boy..." They called me "Butch." It was my mothers nickname as a child as well. My mother, Kay, was married and divorced to Bill Smith before I was born in 1969. Mom got pregnant just before they got their divorce, and supposedly never told him. My birth certificate still shows "unknown" or "Jimmy Harmon", depending on which one you look at, but I've stood next to Bill within the last couple of years and if he's not my father, then I'm a monkey's uncle. We really do look alike, and I've accepted him as my father, although he could probably care less one way or another. Pam and Audra both tell me that mom told them he was my father. And life goes on.

 

Granny was one of the wealthiest individuals in Muldrow at one time. Ray Harvey, Granny's late husband since 1964, made a living raising chickens. We had a chicken farm down in Greenwood, Arkansas and one in Muldrow. I can't be sure what happened when Ray Harvey died, but Granny obviously knew how to keep things going. Since we were related to everyone in the county, she probably had a little help. Dub Hill was there for the majority of my life. He and Granny were what I considered "boyfriend and girlfriend," but as I got older, I realized that Dub was more of a companion than anything. Although they could've gotton married, I'm not sure if they ever did. I know, I should know something like that, but I don't.

 

Dub was always the first one up and the last one to lay down at night. I slept with Dub on the opposite side of the house from Granny, Pam and Audra. My Uncle Mitchell, who we'll talk about later, would sleep in the room next to Dub and I. It was always the same thing when it was time to go to bed. I'd lay there in bed and watch as Dub took off his clothes. He'd sit on the end of the bed and smoke the days last cigarette. He looked as if the troubles of the world were on his shoulders and there was nothing he could do about it. He and Granny would spend the evening hours drinking until they were almost passed out. Some evenings would be filled with yells that would wake the dead. Since Granny owned "Blackjack Cemetary," the possibility of waking the dead was always a serious possibility. They would argue about everything from why Audra was chewing gum in her room to why Pam couldn't go to Sallisaw for some reason or another.

 

Dub was the only true father figure I'd ever known, even though my mother would take me for months at a time out on the road, end up married and divorced at least twice on the way! But it was always the same when we got back to Granny's house... Dub was always there for me. Audra says he even cried once when mom took me away. He looked out for the kids and pretty much ran the farm. Perry Faulkner, another one of Granny's workers, was also a big part of my life. He was more of a getaway for me than anything. He'd take me to his house when things got too bad at Granny's home. Although we couldn't stay gone for very long, it was a safe time. A time for letting down my guard. But eventually, we'd have to go back. I'd hang around Dub and Perry for as long as I could. Whenever Granny saw me, she'd make a list of chores for me to do. Usually things that didn't need to be done, but things to keep me busy. Things like moving a stack of wood from one side of the fence to the other, or cleaning out a hundred year old barn. Sheesh! I'd follow Dub and Perry for as long as I could. We'd go to the chicken houses and "walk the beat." Basically, we'd look for dead chickens to burn. I'd try as hard as I could to get up early in the morning with Dub so we could feed the chickens together. More often than not I'd end up oversleeping. Dub would just let me sleep. Either because he thought I needed the sleep or because he needed to get some work done. Nevertheless, Dub was always there for my sisters and I and he always took up for us when the time came.