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TRANSFORMING SHADOWS OF THE MIND INTO BLESSINGS

Wisdom used my hand to write what I could write. I felt terror at the core of my being that came from speaking my word against my dad, The Prophet. Now I keep the fear at bay, and transform those feelings in the process. I continue with guidance from a higher power, to move through the shadow of fear into the light of day.

DEPRESSION YEARS My daddy held me in one of his big hands that cold, drizzly, early morning. I, Garnet June, was born in a tar-paper shack, December 27, 1933, along the Salmon River in Idaho. Weighing between two and three pounds, Dad said I was roly-poly, and sturdy. I grew well and strong that winter, looked over by a loving mom and older brother and sister. Wood for the stove, in this tar-paper shack, was not easy to come by. Neither were clothes nor bedding for warmth. Cloth from emptied gunny feed and flour sacks became our garments, bedding, diapers, dish towels, and so forth. I was proud of my "dress” made from the pile of gunnysacks dad had toted home— holes cut in the sides for my arms and a hole in the top for my head. A length of baling twine became my belt. One gunnysack was cut open, then draped around my shoulders. Another sack was cut in two, then wrapped around each foot and up my leg. Baling twine was again used to secure the fit. "My, what unique shoes and socks! Oh, and how nice to be so warm!” Old catalog paper was especially appreciated, when we had it, to wrap around the feet before the gunnysack. What more could a little three-year old ask for?