For the Glory of God

Contents

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

IT WAS SUNDAY NIGHT, MARCH 31, 1985. I had missed church that day because I was so ill. I kept thinking I would feel better tomorrow, but instead I kept getting worse. My husband decided that if I wasn’t better by morning, I was going to the doctor. (I learned later from telling my doctor my symptoms that I had pneumonia, and since I had it for two weeks, it could easily develop into congestive heart failure.)

When I went to bed that night, while my husband and son were asleep, I cried and prayed to Our Dear Heavenly Father asking him for help. For Jesus said in Matthew 7:7 Ask and it shall be given you. But you have to ask it in faith, believing that you shall receive. Because God also says, With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). I prayed for God to put his healing hand on me. I told Him that I know that His word says in Isaiah 53:5, With His strips we are healed, so as I prayed for my healing, I felt the nailed-scared hand of Jesus move over me from my head downwards over my body. He said to me so clearly, My child, I have heard your cry and will fill your need and heal you again (The way he has done so many times before). He reminded me that he says in Revelation 21:4, God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes. Sweet Jesus did just that as I lay there praising and thanking God for what He had done. He rekindled in me the memory of when I was a little girl and wanted so badly to become a missionary so I could tell everyone everywhere of the wonderful miracles God has performed for me in my life and that he could do the same for them. But because of my health, I couldn’t fulfill that dream. The Lord said to me, I have healed and helped you, now I want you to me and write a book. I thought to myself, a book about what? My Sweet Jesus answered my thought, a book about you and your life and that you can tell people all that I have done for you and that I can and will do the same for others. The way you wanted to do when you were little. He told me that everyone reads, whether they are rich, poor, young, old, and no matter what religion the practice. He wanted me to have it completed in one year, March 31, 1986.

The next day I couldn’t get the book off of my mind. I kept thinking (rather Satan kept putting in my mind) what if that wasn’t God and I just thought it was, or maybe I just wanted it to be from God. It’s strange how the human part of us lets Satan take over. But I knew that God had touched me and healed me from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. So in my heart I knew it was our Sweet Jesus.

That night when I went to bed I was still thinking about the book. I began to pray and told Sweet Jesus that I didn’t know anything about how to write a book. He answered me in His soft tone, I will help you. Then I said to Jesus, what if it is just that I wanted it to be from you. I told him that I didn’t want to be a doubting Thomas - I just wanted to make sure. I asked to tell me the title of the book if the message was indeed from him. He then said to me so plainly, For The Glory of God is to be the title. I knew right then that it was straight from God. He then said the reason for this is to give God all the glory for everything and also for the up building of His kingdom. So you see, I’m not really writing this book, God is writing it through me. I am going on our Master’s promise to me when He said, I will help you in answer to all of my questions to Him about writing His book, only For The Glory of God.

Chapter 1

I MENTIONED IN THE INTRODUCTION this book was written for the Glory of God. So for the duration of this book, I will try to the best of my knowledge to explain in detail all of the wonderful things that God has done for me. I have tried so hard to live and serve Him and I could never repay Him, for His kindness, love and mercy that He has shown me. Not even with the rest of my life.

I was born on February 5, 1954; my name is Shirley Beatrice Bailey. I was born at St. Joseph Hospital in Kokomo, Indiana. The eighth child of Fred and Susie Bailey. I weighed 5 lbs. & 6 oz., and the first child that my angel Mother was able to have in a hospital. She had the rest of them at home with help from my Grandma. I was next to the baby of the children. I had six sisters and two brothers. Two of my sisters next to the oldest passed away within hours after birth. Their names were Joyce and Barbara. My other brothers and sisters names from the oldest to the youngest are: Billie Sue, Paul, Kay, David, Phyllis, and Rena. I’ve mentioned these names so you will know who I am referring to later on. We were a big happy, loving family. Well when I was born they found out that my esophagus, the tube that goes to your stomach was going to my back. So when I was two days old they sent me to Riley’s Children Hospital. In Indianapolis, Indiana which was 52 miles south of Kokomo, for surgery. When I was three days old I had my first surgery, they took out my esophagus. They ran tubes through my nose and veins, which they fed me through. Until they did my second surgery when I was 5 days old. Then they inserted another tube in me, going to my stomach. Then they discovered a hole in my stomach. So when I was two weeks old I had my third surgery, to close a hole in my stomach. I was 7 months old, when I had the fourth surgery. It was an exploratory on my heart. They found out what kind of heart trouble that I had. My heart was enlarged and I had two holes with leakage in the back wall of my heart. The holes was about the size of pin head then. I was 7 months old and weighed 7 lbs. and 2oz. September 24th, 1954 I gained up to 8 lbs. and 7 oz. before I was released from the hospital. Well I finally got to go home for awhile after my fourth surgery. Home was on North Delphos St., in Kokomo. By then my precious angel Mother was pregnant with the youngest of all her children my sister Rena. She was the ninth and last child. So not only was she pregnant with her, she also had five other children at home. Now he also had me she had to nurse back to health. Which meant the dressings on my stomach had to changed and cleaned every day. My oldest sister Billie Sue helped my Mom as much as possible. Bless her heart, but there is only so much that a 12 year old can do.

Shirley at 4 months old.

So with all the other complications Mom had so many problems. It seemed like she always did have so much to deal with, ever since I can remember. Only by the Grace of God was Mom able to cope with the many difficulties of her life. Bless her heart! Let’s not forget my precious Dad in his right shared the same problems. He also worked very hard to earned enough to help raise and provide for all of us. Which was no easy job either, God love him!

Well as my memory serves me I believe, in 1959 we moved back to Kettle Holler, in Maynardville, Tenn., I was about 5 years old. My health in general was and has been fairly good after my fourth surgery. You know even though there was a lot of us and we was poor. It seemed like the happiest days of my life was when we moved back to Tenn. You see you don’t really need a lot of worldly material things to be happy. We had love and money can not buy that.

Well when we moved to Tenn. My oldest sister Billie Sue, had just got married. Her husband Lester had joined the Army. Then he got stationed in Germany, and of course she went too. So Mom and Dad, and six children lived in a three room house. It was an old wood house, with a tin roof, and wooden floors. We had a big wood burning stove in the middle of the living room floor. We had a smoke house, out house, and a well we pumped our water from. Down at the end of the holler we had a spring, with fresh cold, and clear drinking water. We also grew most of our own food. We also had chickens, pigs, and a cow. We grew corn, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, and a lot other vegetables. We had a barn which they hung tobacco to dry, which we grew. We eat a lot beans, fried potatoes, and cornbread. Until Dad would slaughter a hog, then we would have fresh meat. Then when the chickens would get big enough eat, Dad would wring off their heads and hang them on the clothes line. By their feet, until the blood drained out of them. Then Mom would put them in pots of boiling water. To boil off the feathers and we would help pluck off the feathers. Then we would get to have fried chicken. So our chores were to go milk the cow, gather the eggs, get the water, pluck chickens, help break green beans, and help can food for winter. Pick tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, and all the vegetables we grew. But when the chickens weren’t laying, we had to eat powered eggs. In the winter we had to eat the food we had canned, and Dad hung the meat in the smoke house to keep and cure. Since we did not have a big deep freezer like this day and age.

All of our clothes were either handed down from our cousins and sisters, or Mom made them. She had an old Singer sewing machine she used. For Christmas if we were lucky we would get some used clothes, shoes, or coat from the Goodwill ,or Salvation Army stores. They was new to us, and we very thankful for them. Mom taught us from birth to always be thankful for anything and everything. She taught us to be thankful for our home, clothes, food, health, our parents, brothers and sisters, and many other blessings that God had given us. Also to try to always be worthy of God’s many Blessings that He gives us every day of our lives. So if and when you think that you have it bad in life. Just stop and look at people around you, there is always someone else a lot worse off than you are. Then it makes you stop and count your blessings. Then see if they don’t always out weigh the bad in your life. That is what my Angel Mother always told us to do and that is what she did, even when things seemed to be so bad. I’m sure that is what helped her to make it through the many bad times in her life. Ephesians 5:20, tells us As giving thanks always for all things unto God. Also that Jesus says, My God shall supply all your needs. Philippians 4: 19. Then another is in Matthew 19:26 With God all are possible. So even though we were poor, we was very rich with the love of Sweet Jesus. For God Is Love" 1 John 4: 16, we also had the love of our parents and family. Also The Big Hand of God!

Dad worked very hard cutting and hauling logs to the saw mill and hauling coal to a local vendor all day long. On some occasions my sister (Rena) and I and Mom would go with Dad when he cut logs. After he would cut the trees down and the limbs off of the trees. We would take the limbs and the leaves and make us a play house and play there all day long and just have a great time with them. We always had to make a lot of things to play with. I remember we use to take little bamboo polls and cut them in about 12 inch pieces. Back then everybody whittled, except us girls. My brothers or Dad would take and whittle out holes in the bamboo. So we would have home made flutes to play with. We sure did have a lot of fun with them. There was never enough money to go buy store bought toys, so we had to make do with what we had.

I remember too about a mile down the road was where we went to school and church. It was a little white church, with wood floors and old wood benches. The school was red, and was just one big room. It had a big wood burning stove in the middle of it. I remember walking to school with our brothers and sisters and cousins. Sometimes we would see snakes hanging across electric wires. Or maybe dead on the road where they had been run over. Back then we didn’t think to much about though. Now I would be scared to death, even if it was dead or not.

Chapter 2

WELL FINALLY, WORK GOT HARDER to get and the pay wasn’t very much either. So Dad and Mom decided that we should move back to Indiana. Dad heard of work in Indiana, from my Uncle who lived up there. So in the Spring of 1961 we moved back to Kokomo, Indiana. Dad got hired at Miller Steel Co. making a lot more money than we were use to. We didn’t have it made or get anything that we wanted. But we didn’t have to grow everything that we ate, and always get hand me downs. By then I was seven years old, and my health had been pretty good. But then things changed when I started school in September of 1961. Even the school being right across the street. I got pneumonia January 16th of 1962. I turned eight years old on February 5th, 1962. Then March 21st was my last day of school, until after my surgeries.

On March 23rd, I had to go to Riley Children’s Hospital, in Indianapolis, Indiana. I had my fifth surgery April 7th, 1962. They took out the lower half of my left lung because it was collapsing. Then on April 28th of 1962 they clipped off the bottom of my right lung, because it was collapsing too. That was my sixth surgery. I had tubes in my nose, back, and side to drain my lung. I was fed intravenously and a blood transfusion, and in a oxygen tent. But Mom said I sat up in 30 minutes after I got out of surgery. They took out the last drain tube on May 10th,1962. On May 16th I got to go home. Praise God!

My family — moved to Indiana from Tennessee, 1962. Also, had my two lung surguries at 8 years, same age as picture.

Then the Doctor told my parents and I that I needed to have open heart surgery, to patch a hole in the back wall of my heart. However, there was no way that I could take it at this age and live through it. It was too soon after my lung surgeries, because my body hadn’t had time to get built back for it. I would have to wait until I was sixteen to do it.

Well since I had been out of school for over two months, this year. My parents and the teacher decided that it would be best to keep me back in the first grade again. Even though I did my homework when they brought it to me in the hospital. But I failed that year because of my surgeries and sickness.

You know when I was eight years old, I use to hate doctors and nurses. It seemed like every time I seen one of them, I was left with them. After my last two surgeries, I had to go back to Indianapolis for a check-up every Thursday. But it seemed like doctors and nurses always made me hurt, one way or another. They either gave me a shot, a surgery, or just take me away from my parents and I would end up having to stay in the hospital. That is just what it look like to an eight year old. So I hated them, until one night I had a dream about doctors and nurses. I know that was straight from God to comfort me. That is the first time that God ever spoke to me in a dream.

In my dream our Heavenly Father let me know that when I was born, I had a sick little body. That right away the doctors and nurese had to work on me to keep me alive. That they was only helping Me, not wanting to hurt me. He said, that they were His Angels and they work for Him too. He used their hands and ability to make me feel better and heal me and make me whole, as He had done so many time before. That’s the reason they all wear white robes too, like His Angels do. Also if it hadn’t been for them and what they done through Him, I would not have lived. So He let me that I shouldn’t be afraid of them. Or not to hate them, but I should love them and be very thankful for them. So I knew even then, that our Merciful Jesus had saved me for a reason.

Well I got along pretty good again, after my fifth and sixth surgeries. Praise be to the Lamb of God for that! Speaking of God, we went to church when we lived in Tennessee. Then for the first yearafter we moved back up to Indiana. Then Dad and Mom and the rest of my family quit going to church. My parents said, it was because the preacher at the church we went to, had a heart attack. Then he was not able to preach anymore. So the preacher the church got next my parents didn’t like. So they didn’t go anymore.

But it didn’t take from the faith that my parents had in Sweet Jesus. It was Jesus I know that helped them through so much. Like how we had to live in Tennessee. Then when we moved to Indiana and we had it so much better, our financial problems got better. But I got sick and had to have two surgeries, instead of one. Then of course it had to be in Indianapolis, which was 52 miles south of where we live in Kokomo. Also while I was down there my oldest sister Sue was in Germany having a baby. My oldest nephew was born over there. But as soon as she delivered him, the doctors told her that she needed surgery. When all they really wanted was to use her as a guienna pig to experiment on. They told her that she would never have anymore kids and live. But later on in their lives, after they got home in the states they had three more kids. Which was perfectly fine and healthy. So my parents had to worry with her in Germany and me in Indianapolis. Then my other two sisters got the mumps and had to stay home from school and go to the doctor. Mom also had to worry with the other three older ones to get up and off to school, and Dad to work. Then it wasn’t long after I came home from the hospital that my Mom’s Father passed away. After all she was going through already, now she has to cope with that too. He died with double pneumonia and he lived in Tennessee. I know since my parents had so much faith in precious Jesus. I know He is the one that gave them the strength to carry on. I also know that the cross got so heavy to bare sometimes. But the Master says in Hebrews 13:5 I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Also in Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.

Our precious Jesus is not slack in His promises. He keeps everyone of them. Just like before I went have my surgeries, my precious Mother had me anointed and prayed for at church. Then Oral Roberts was on T.V. in a revival. He was anointing and praying for the sick. He said, if you are watching by T.V. to put one hand on the screen and the other on the sick. My sweet Mom called me over there to her, and prayed a beautiful prayer of faith. That God would touch me, with His nailed scared hand, when I went to have my surgeries. Also when I was in the hospital my brothers and sisters came and seen me. Bless their hearts! They went in the chapel in the hospital and prayed sweet humble prayers for me. So you see that’s why and how I got along so good after my surgeries. Sweet Jesus tells us in John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled. Then in John 14:14 For if you ask anything in My Name, I will do it. So He did that very thing, Praise God! He is so merciful and good to us!

Well anyway, I sat and thought about my family not going to church anymore. Then I thought of when I was eight years old and the dream I had, about the doctors and nurses. How God was with me from the beginning, taking care and watching over me. Also how my precious family had prayed and the faith they had, and that God had already brought me through. In just eight short years, I had learned so much at church. Even my youngest sister Rena and I, had won little white Bibles in Sunday school for memorizing and learning verses. I remember loving to hear the wonderful stories about Sweet Jesus. So I decided even though they all stopped going to church, I would keep on going. Our Dear Master had done too much for me to quit now. We were raised Baptist, and I thanked God that there was a Baptist church not far from where we lived. So every Sunday morning I would walk to that church. So I could learn more about The King Jesus. But I couldn’t go on Sunday night and Wednesday, because of school. Also it would be dark when it was time to walk home. Then in summer I always went to Bible school, they had in our neighborhood. I loved it so much, but I never did get to go to any Bible camps. Although I would have give anything in this world to get to go when I was little. Speaking of being little, I grew up being so little. My youngest sister Rena which was a year younger than me, was always as big or bigger than me. Mom use to make a lot of our clothes. She use to make us shorts and blouses outfits, and dresses too just alike. So people always thought that we was twins a lot of times.

Chapter 3

IN 1962 SUE AND LESTER (my brother-in-law) got to come home from Germany with my angel nephew Ricky Todd. Sue had him in Frankfurt, Germany on October 11, 1961. He was my first grandchild so you can imagine how proud they were of him and we all was. Lester started dating Sue, when Rena and I was still in diapers. Then they got married when we were four and five years old. So I don’t even remember the first time that I saw Lester. But he was very sweet, hard working, and a good man. But he has never seemed like a brother-in-law, he always seemed like a brother. We use to always go over to Lester’s parents house. He had the most precious and sweet parents. Everybody has always loved them so much. They also use to come over to our house too. Everybody has always called them Mom and Dad Carpenter. It was because they are so good to people, that they seemed like your own parents, in many ways. They had five boys and two girls, and my parents had five girls and two boys. Rena and I use to love to go over there to play with Donna’s toys. She was Lester’s youngest sister. She always got things that Rena and I would have love to had. Like dolls with hair you could brush or fix. Ours always had painted on hair. One time she got some little paper dolls. The kind that you had to cut their clothes all out. Then put little paper dresses, and clothes on these little dolls, which stood on little stands. We would spend hours playing with them. Another time she got some little black plastic hi-heels. I thought they was the prettiest things I had ever saw. She got a stroller for her dolls too. Rena and I loved it so much, because we had to carry our baby doll around in our arms, when we played house. Until we got better off financially. Then we finally got to get us some paper dolls, and a stroller for our dolls too. Then we didn’t have to fight over turns to play with her stroller and hi-heels. It always seemed like it was never my turn because it was either Rena’s or Donna’s turn. I’m sure it was because both of them was the baby of each family, in fact they was the same age. So I thought well I will go see Tom, (Lester’s brother). I was only eight years old, but I loved him so much. Ever since the first day I ever saw him, I thought he was so good looking. I guess I liked him so much because he was funny and he made me laugh a lot. I had already had already had so much pain in my life, that it was good to get to laugh. He always had such a good turn about him, that everybody liked him. He was only a year and a half older than me. I thought that the sun rose and set on him. To know him was to love him, in fact I don’t remember when I didn’t love him. I loved him from birth it seemed like.

Well anyway, back to Rena and I fighting. I know it was because we was so close in age. That it seemed like we fought all thetime, when we were growing up. I also remember one time, Rena and I got little stuffed play monkeys, instead of dolls for Christmas. My brother -in-law Lester got them for us. I remember loving that little monkey so much, because I didn’t have to get up everyday and fuss and fight with that monkey, like I did Rena. Since Rena was the baby of the family. It seemed like she always got her way with so many things. She got to go with Mom and Dad every time they went any where. I would cry my heart out to go, and even the rest of the kids would ask them to let me go. But they still wouldn’t let me go, just Rena.

I remember another time, that I had just came home from having my two surgeries on my lungs. I was so sick that I couldn’t hold my head up. I was laying my head on Mom’s lap. When Rena came in there and seen me, and she threw a terrible fit. Until Mom made me get up and let Rena lay on her lap. Instead of letting her know, I was sick and not moving. That is the only time I ever remember getting to lay my head on her lap though. But it sure didn’t last too long either. It doesn’t seem like such a big deal now, but it was when you hardly ever got much attention from Mom. Also when you are eight years old and hurting so much. I know to tell your Mom that something on you is hurting, she cannot make it stop hurting. She can just give you something for it. But it seemed like just telling her and her being concerned and knowing about it, just made you feel better.

It just seemed like Rena always got so much attention, from everybody especially Mom and Dad. Even for mean things that she did. She always embarrassed me to death, acting so foolish in front of people, just to get their attention. She use to get in Mom’s purse all the time and get money. It always just change, but it was still stealing. If any of the rest of us, would have even thought about doing that. We would have got whipped until we couldn’t sit down. But Rena always got by with it. Then everything else that she did, was so funny and sweet to them. I still don’t understand why she got by with so much, and got her way. Even then I realized that she was the last one, that my parents would have. But it didn’t make me like it any better. I do remember my Dad and oldest sister Sue and Kay my other sister, taking up for me, over different things to Mom. Things Rena would start and I would get into trouble too, when she did it. I tried to be a good little girl, and kept on going to church. When Rena would get into fights with everyone of our little friends in our neighborhood. She was so hateful and contrary, so you see it wasn’t just me. I remember Mom telling Dad and my sisters, if I show Shirley any attention, I would have kill or whip it out of her. I would set and think, I would love for her to show me some love and attention.

You know I always loved everybody and everything, so I just thought that Mom hated me. I figured it was because of all the trouble and worry I have put them through, all my surgeries and sickness. The only time I remember her showing me any attention was when she would be telling some of our family or friends about my surgeries. Then she would have me come and show them. That I only like one inch front and an inch on my back. Of being cut all the way into, all the way around my little body. Then she would show them the scars and the one on my stomach too. It seemed like she had to show them to everybody. It use to embarrass me to death. I didn’t understand why she done that, until I got older. I just knew I was getting a little attention, even if it was embarrassing. At least she stopped talking about Rena, long enough to talk about me. Even though I was jealous of the attention Rena got, I still loved her. So I don’t mean to sound like I didn’t. Or my precious Mom, because when I got older we had a good long talk. So I’m not trying to take away, from Mom, of being a good Motherto me and all of us. This is just what it looked like to me, being eight years old.

I remember when I was seven about seven, the year before I has my lung surgeries. That I got pneumonia and whooping cough, and I about died then. I remember coughing and thinking to God that it would be my last breath. My angel Mom took care and doctored me back to health, with the help of Sweet Jesus, who answered her prayers. Even though she suffered every day with arthritis ever since she had Rena. Bless her heart!

Since then I got along very good after my lung surgeries. Except I did get pneumonia almost every winter. Then my precious Mom would fix onion polouses and put on my chest. Which was fried onions and put them in a little piece of cloth, like a T-shirt or diaper or whatever and tie it up. Then while the onions are still warm not hot, you apply them to your chest. The heat vapors from the onions had the same affect as Vick’s Vapor rub. It would make my chest feel so much better and I could breathe so good too. Back then we didn’t have a heating pad either. So Mom would turn the iron on real low and wrap a towel around it. It would have the same affect as a heating pad does now. She would put that on my chest and back after she had rubbed me down with liniment. When you have pneumonia it makes it feel so much better. God love her, she done everything in her power to help me, then let Jesus do the healing.

I remember too, my nose use to bleed so easy all of the time. Mom use to tell me Shirley, you better not get to playing too hard. Or you will get your nose to bleeding again. It would bleed clots so much that Mom would have to call the paramedics out to the house. Then they would have to pack my nose, before the blood would stop. But most of the time when my nose would bleed. Mom would read out of the Bible in Ezekiel 16:6 it says, When I passed by thee, and I saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live. Every time Mom would read that, I could feel the Big Hand of God sweep over me. Then my nose would stop bleeding just as fast as it started. So if you ever need to stop bleeding, just read Ezekiel 16:6, then believe with all of your heart. So be it and it shall be done. Our Sweet Jesus in His word says in John 14:14 For if ye ask anything in My Name, I will do it. The Master is so merciful and good that He will do it. He has done it many times for me. So anything He had done for me, He will do the same for you. All you have to do is ask, faith believing, ye shall receive. Praise His Holy Name!

Chapter 4

ON OCTOBER 8TH,1962 MY OLDEST sister Sue and Lester had their second son Lester Gregory. When Greg was born I was nine years old. After Sue had Greg, they started going out a lot on week-ends. Then our parents told Phyllis, Rena, and I that we had to start baby-setting. Kay my sister next to the oldest, had been baby setting. But she was going to get married soon. So Phyllis baby sit for a while until she got until she started going with boys and having dates. Then it was Rena and I turn to baby sit. I started baby sitting when I was nine years old, for Rick and Greg my nephews. They was one and two years old. However, we didn’t just baby-sit, we had to cook, clean house, and do the laundry. Mom and Dad let us know that we had to baby-sit, or we would be refused other privileges.

Dad also had bought a Service Station up on west Morgan St. It was across the street from a tavern. So Dad and Lester started going to taverns a lot. Then they got into driving race cars, out at the local race track. They were away from home a lot during those times. Then sometimes we would go over to Aunt Shirley and Uncle Clyde’s ( I was named after Aunt Shirley). They would play cards and games, and sometimes on week-ends, they would have parties. My Aunt and Uncle like to party a lot. They always partied over at their house, or some of their friends houses. Mom wouldn’t allow them to party at our house. Uncle Clyde and his friends would play guitars and their own music at their parties. I remember times that Aunt Shirley and Dad, would get upset with Mom for not wanting to go to some of their parties.

Mom would get so tired of going to their parties, because it affected her physically. Her arthritis hurt her all of the time. She would tell them she didn’t feel like going and would rather stay home with us kids. They would tell her that she ruins everybody’s fun. Or that there is always one in every crowd. Of course they was talking about her, being the one. I couldn’t believe Aunt Shirley doing that, because she had three kids too. They was good people, both Aunt Shirley and Uncle Clyde. Everyone loved them, and they always had a lot of family and friends at their house. I don’t mean to sound like all they do is party. My sisters Rena and Phyllis and I use to take turns going over there and spending the night with our cousins Kathy, Jewell, and Steve. We would always have a lot of fun over there too.

I was eleven years old when I started in the 4th grade. Only two three days into the school year, my physical problems came back. It was about 3: a. m. on Sept. 10th,1965. I was sleeping with my sister Kay (she hadn’t got married yet.) When I woke up with severe chest and heart pains, and I couldn’t hardly stand the pain. My heart was beating so fast and hard that it was shaking our bed. I woke my sister up and she said, I better go tell Mom and Dad. But I laid there waiting for the pain to ease up, but it wouldn’t. It got so bad that I couldn’t bear the pain any longer. By then my heart was making my head, and whole body hurt. So I woke my parents up, God love them. I hated doing that knowing that they had to get up at 5:a.m. every morning. So Dad could go to work and us kids up for school. Mom started giving me everything she thought would help me. Doing all she could, rubbing me down with salve. So when they had done every-thing in their power to ease the pain. They started crying because they were afraid I might die. So my parents started praying the most beautiful prayers I have ever heard, because they was from their hearts. Knowing in Revelations21: 4 God shall wipe away all tears and sorrow from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor crying, neither shall there be anymore pain: for the former things are passed away. Then that is what my pain did. As my parents and I prayed, my pain stopped and I fell asleep. I didn’t even hear my Dad go to work, or the rest of the kids going to school that morning. Praise God! See how wonderful and precious Jesus is. Well needless to say, I had to go back to Indianapolis to Riley Children’s Hospital, the day after it happened. But only for a check-up, to see what had happened to me. They said, that I had a heart attack even at eleven years old. My chest cavity on the inside was so messed up, from my previous surgeries. I guess from being cut on so much, and from the massive scar tissue. They told us that my chest and my heart in the shape they was in they would hurt and cause me problems the rest of my life. They said, that we will just have to hope that I don’t have anymore heart attacks. They told Mom to keep me home from school for the next six weeks. They said, I needed the open heart surgery now. But with all the other surgeries I have already had, I wouldn’t live through it. That I haven’t had time to get my resistances built up yet. That I needed to wait until I was 16 years old and have it done. Even though I missed the first six weeks of the fourth grade. I didn’t fail that year, or any other one. In the third grade I even received a certificate for not being tardy, or missing one day of school that whole year. I was so proud! Believe me I never got another one the whole time I was in school. But I sure was proud of that one. Then turn around and miss the first six weeks of school the next year. I was so heart sick in more ways than one.

Well speaking of my next to the oldest sister Kay, a minute ago. She got married to a man named Mike. They had a baby girl named Denise Elaine on Oct.12, 1965. Mike was very mean to her and everybody else that he came into contact with him. He wouldn’t keep a job very long. He stayed in trouble with the law all the time too. He got into some kind of trouble, right after they got married, I don’t remember what it was for. But in order to get out of jail he had to be turned over to some responsible and reliable people. His parents were divorced when he was little a boy. Then his Mom left the kids with their Dad and he just turned them all loose. That’s why he wasn’t turned over to his parents. He was turned over to a couple named Mart and Jean, who still had a son and daughter at home. Then couplewas told that they would be responsible for anything that he did. So he stayed there for awhile, and even stayed out of trouble too.

Finally him and Kay moved to Georgia. Kay and Mike had introduced my parents to Mart and Jean. So Jean started calling to see if Mom had heard from Kay and Mike, and see how they was doing. They would talk for long periods of time on the phone. Also Mart worked on race cars, and Dad and Lester was still racing cars. So they always went to the race track too. Then Rena and I begin stayingall night with Vicky, their daughter, and she stayed a few nights with us too. Our families became very close.

Then Dad started staying out all night and drinking a lot. When he would come home, he would be so hateful and contrary with Mom and us kids too. Mom found out later that all of that time, he had been going out with Jean. She had just been trying to get in real good and thick with Mom, just to get to Dad. There is a name for people like her, of which I won’t repeat. Mom always wondered why and how, Dad even allowed her to have a friend ( suppose to be a friend). When she never got to have any friends around before. But it wasn’t long until she found out. Dad hurt Mom a lot more than he did us kids, during the next 5 years. He only hurt our feelings by saying hateful things to us. But he hurt Mom by going out on her all that time. He didn’t just hurt her, he ripped her heart out. Also by not being there when she needed him, or wanted him. He felt so guilty about the affair, that’s why he was so hard to get along with. Sometimes he would get drunk, and he would get his gun out. He never did anything with it, so I don’t know why he wanted it. I guess to scare us to death, which he did a good job of. Thanks be unto God only, that he didn’t use his gun when he got drunk and wanted it. That was due to a lot of heavy duty prayer though, and I sure don’t mean that funny either, or to be taken lightly. Dad would go to taverns and get drunk, and get into fights. Then several times he would end up in jail. He was never in there very long. But from 1965 until 1970, our family life was terrible. From when I was eleven until I was sixteen. Thank God my health was good after my heart attack. It never did hurt or bother me again. So the doctor in Indy was waiting for my resistance to get built back up. However it seemed like