GARDEN ROAD

One time Jude's Mom asked Jude and me to pick a couple of quarts of blackberries for a pie. It became an adventure for us because trying to get to them without getting too scratched up was a real trick. The blackberries had originally been cultivated but then had run wild over much of the east side of our property. The next day, I was invited to have some of that pie. I don't really remember much about their kitchen except that it was dark. There were only two small windows over the sink. I do, however, remember vividly the aroma and taste of that freshly baked blackberry pie.

A few years later, I was asked to stay with Mrs. Flaherty while the family was away overnight, just to have someone in the house with her. As I remember, there were no other "guests" at this time. The back stairway to the second floor was located in the corner of the kitchen behind a closed door. Mother said it was probably the servants stairway when the house was originally built. After opening the door, the first three or four steps curved around to the left and then went straight up. It was narrow and very dark with dark woodwork and dark, high steps. It was just a little spooky and intimidating to me. At the last minute, my sister Margie asked if she could come also, and when Mother agreed, I was more than happy to have her with me. Thinking about it now, I wonder at leaving children (I was about 11 and Margie 8) alone with a handicapped, bedridden woman but times were different then and no one thought anything of it.
To be continued...