Betty Jo

I lived a simple life.  My parents owned a small market that earned enough to get by.  Those in our hollar would stop by mostly for cigarettes and beer.  Momma didn't want to sell beer but Daddy said it was the only thing keepin us in business.

We farmed our land and sold corn, tomatoes, beans and a few other items from our hard work.  We ate more pinto beans and cornbread that I can't stand 'em to this day.  My Daddy worked us hard with no sympathy for age, strength or number of hour he made us work.  Everyone had a job.

My best friend Karla was different than me but we became easy friends at an early age.  Karla and I did everything together in our hollar.  We knew that hollar edge to edge.  Momma said Karla was invitin trouble.  I wasn't sure what she meant at the time.  Karla did like the boys, but bein friends with boys aint bad I didn't think.  Momma said bein friends gets girls pregnant.  Karla thought Momma was funny.

I met Mack Jr at the town dance.  Karla was besides herself when I refused to "have a little fun" with him at the dance.  I know what fun leads to.  Momma said it lead to babies and I wanted no part of it.  "Dancin don't lead to no babies", Mack Jr told me.  "I only want to dance with you."

So we danced.  And afterwards he persued me for years.  Momma didn't much like it but I thought he was nice. 

Kaylie Mae

Kaylie Mae always felt like an akward child.  She didn't have a lot of friends.  She was an only child.  As she grew older she believed her family to be disfunctional, but then again a lot of families in the hollar were odd.

Kaylie Mae's family owned a junk yard right in their front yard.  Her Dad believed it to be the largest "parts department" in all of Kanawha County.  Kaylie Mae could never understand if the junk was so important and profitable then why did they have to go to the Welfare Office dressed up once a month begging for help.

Kaylie Mae's goal growing up had always been to get far away from the hollar as she could get.  She studied hard, took all the right classes and always listened to her teachers.  Education in West Virginia typically ended at 14.  It's not as though kids dropped out, it's when the WV Education Association claimed students completed all necessary coursework.

The way out of the hollar was not to get pregnant.  That would not be a problem.  Kaylie Mae always knew she wasn't interested.  She felt it early on.  Instead she wanted to move to the big city, to New York City, where she would be a reporter.  She loved to read and she loved to write even more.  She believed herself to be a sort of investigator.

Writing was in her genes, in her blood.  Her Mom, Betty Jo, loved to write.  She always encouraged Kaylie Mae to be creative.  Betty Jo never criticized Kaylie Mae when snooping around for that big story.  Betty Jo believed it to be harmless.  Kaylie Mae believed she was onto something.

Getting started

Time to get serious at writing, rewriting, developing characters and making some money.  Or just having fun.  More to come.  Hope you enjoy.