I have just been drilling holes next to what will be our front entrance at Florida Park, to hang up some concrete Angels and an inscription on stone that Chris wanted up , I also dug down a bit to put in a bird bath and some metal plant holders.
In the items I had to pickup,in order to do this, was a spare tile. a plastic watering can and a very sturdy table leg, the last named triggered a lost memory.
I have mentioned that we were 6 children , me being the oldest, then, David ,Michael, Louise, Susan and Elaine.
When I was about 20 this all changed!
I heard that my parents were adopting some kids whose parents had died?
Maureen , blond , Gail, brunette and little Allen.
I met the 2 Girls by coming home late from a club and climbing in to a bed that was full of crumbs and various other irritating items. I dragged them by the Hair into the Shower and opened the cold water tap. Strangely, nobody ever messed with my bed again !
They had an older Brother, Tom, who was already working when these circumstances happened, he was a Ballet Dancer , and a keen cyclist. Physically, very strong, ( said he had to be able to lift a girl up on each hand) and would think nothing of doing a 100Km Bicycle ride in the morning..
Although they had other family , none of them were interested in the Children, never came to visit them.
My Parents ,with my siblings, took them on holiday, Maureen must have been about 16 , Gail 14 and Allen about 10 when they came to stay with us . I was pretty much doing my own thing at the time.
Taught Maureen to Drive ( or should I say attempted to) she was really bad , drove my Vokswagen into a pavement,
no damage as I had already pulled on the handbrake and switched off the ignition!
When David went to the Airforce he came back with a Friend , lets call him Will and he and Maureen started dating for a while. . The kids were great fun, fitted into our family well ,despite their traumatic experience. We had never met any of their other family who displayed no empathy for them, at all.
Again my family , were going on Holiday, leaving early in the Morning for the South Coast. ( Yours truly looking after the house again) 0230hrs in the Morning,
banging on the Front Door ( Like CSI) Here is the Sherrif ,
a trooper and the Kids Uncle ( who we had never seen before) The Poor Guy could not live another moment without his Nieces and Nephew. and had come to remove them from our evil clutches!
I have not seen My Dad angry often, told this Idiot exactly what he thought of him . The Sheriff tried to remonstrate with My Dad ,he immediately replied that they were all trespassing on his property . I know David and I were quite up for tossing them out. A warrant was produced , and the Children were taken away.
Turns out a Large Insurance Policy for the Kids had turned up which can engender real love in the hearts of relatives!
I mentioned at the beginning of this that a Table Leg brought back a memory?, a few years later , I was saddened to hear that Maureen's Husband had killed her with a Table Leg .
Oh no, thats awful :(