HISTORY
I Know Where The Body Is Buried
So what should I do now?
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There is a body buried at my childhood home. I know that because I saw the gravestone, but there is more to the story than that.
Summer, Early 1950’s
I can’t put an exact date on this. I might have been as young as four, perhaps as old as six. It’s hard to pin that down: I know that I was quite young and that we moved to this house in 1952, so it couldn’t have been before that.
If I could remember whether the old barn was still standing, I might narrow the date. My father tore that barn down sometime after we moved, but I don’t know when and I don’t remember if the barn was still standing on the day in question.
I’ll have to ask my sisters if they remember. And my cousin, because she might have been there that day too. If any of them remember the day, they might be a better judge of when this happened.
My sisters and my cousin are older than I am. That might help narrow the time as well, as the oldest is seven years older. Our cousin is about the same age. I’ll also need to ask her if she recalls any of this.
A big family
The house was big, 2600 square feet in three stories. For a brief period in the fifties, our cousin and her family lived with us. Effectively, I had three older sisters to play with. They made good use of me in their games: I kid them now about leaving me tied to a tree in a cowboy and Indians game, but they were great babysitters and companions.
The yard was good-sized too, though smaller while the old barn still survived. We played Cowboys and Indians, badminton, basketball, used our hula-hoops, and sometimes we played softball or whiffle ball, though I can’t remember which. Maybe both, at different times. My sisters might know.
The game
On this summer day, seventy years ago or so, the Lawrence children decided to play ball in the yard. Our cousin may or may not have been there and there may have been a neighborhood kid or two. I assume there were not many players because I was allowed to play. Maybe I would have been included regardless, but I think a smaller number makes that more likely.
