A Stranger Knocks At Our Door

 

That empty lot was where our house on Attesian was. It was a four room house with two walls removed, so it was two rooms. We had the "open concept" before people even knew what an open concept was. This house was magical and gave my sister, brother and me many precious memories. Now , sadly, the house is gone.

I love that wooden kitchen table. It was always a treat to get a new colorful oilcloth. The kitchen had a coal burning stove, but we never had any coal. We burned garbage and wood. One of my chores was to saw wood in the basement.

Johnny, me and Jimmy. Johnny was 13 when he moved from Mississippi to live with us. He got a part time job working at Del Farm. My brother Burns had to move from my aunt's in New Orleans to live with my Grandmother Jackie on the farm. He wasn't given a choice. I always wished that all my brothers and sisters could live and grow up together. I would have loved to live on the farm in Mississippi.

That's the back of our house and my dad's car. The last time I drove by the house an African-American family lived there. Now the house and the one in front of it are gone.

That killer knocked on our door and he wanted my mother to let him in. There was a police manhunt for him after he killed a policeman. My mother wouldn't open the door. He found another house to hold up in and he held the family hostage. He was arrested on August 18, 1955. His name os Richard Carpenter. He was executed in the electric chair. In those days you didn't mess with the police. The police did a lot od good back then, but even then they were as corrupt as hell.