I'm always asked how old was I when this happened of that happened. I always answered, seven. It was the age I remembered being when I went to my mother and told her about being molested,when in fact it was happening for years but, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Mom and Dad were hard core Republicans until Kennedy. This was mostly due to mom because she was a free thinker and encouraged us to be the same. Dad on the other hand was very proud and he instilled in us a fierce independence. I walked through life with the I can do it myself and I don't need you attitude when someone hurt me. He also made it clear that we were to stand together at all times and NEVER tell on anyone. This was enforced by the one who told getting punished as well as the one who did it. If the one who did it did not come forward, everyone got punished. I know this seems harsh but after growing up I understood that dad had to do the only thing he knew to do in order to maintain order while he was at work. Mom was just to soft hearted and she married so young. Her parents had high expectations of her and her sister. They even went to finishing school. Mom was always correcting our English. She didn't have much success at stopping us from saying r at the end of our er words. Dad had to teach her how to cook and for a long time washed and combed and braided the older girls hair. Mom was a good cook but when Dad cooked, my mouth started wartering from the wonderful smells of fried chicken,fried fish, hot bread, corn bread, etc.
Our house was always buzzing with musical sounds and smells from the kitchen and people talking. Someone was always practicing an instrument on the other side or warming up their vocals. My middle sister went to the Boston Conservatory of Music. Her soprano gave me goose bumps and chills up and down my spine. My older brothers and sisters were always coming home with the latest records which consisted mostly of swing and jazz. I promised myself that when I grew up, I would never listen to any more jazz. When Billie Holiday died, the whole house stopped buzzing for a few days. I got so I couldn"t think or sleep without those noises. When there were disagreements, it still sounded like music because everyone argued in the key they sang in.