by L. Dalton

Created on: March 09, 2009   Last Updated: April 07, 2011

The Little House In The Hollow.

I have been told of this incident by my parents, so many times, that I can almost visualize my own birth. It was May 10, 1948. Mama knew early that day that of my arrival was not far off. She wouldn't tell anyone until it was beyond her ability to control the events, that were happening around her.

She got up and changed the old feather bed coverings and put clean ones on. Being a weekday it seemed a little different she would change bed clothes and not be getting ready to do the weekly wash until the end of the week. Now, she had to have everything in order and clean before I made my grand appearance. She hadn't even told my grandmother, which could have very likely cost her a good tongue lashing, when the time came for my grandmother to arrive seeing what was happening. As time passed, mother was cleaning and getting the necessary bedding, towels, blankets and clothing she would need for me when it came time for me to be born.

Later on in the afternoon, she had walked down the little narrow wagon road, past the barn and the tobacco fields and Mamaw's garden. Which to say was not just a little tilled up dirt in the ground. It was as large as one of my grandfather's tobacco fields. When she made it to Mamaw's, walking across the infamous log bridge, she met Mamaw coming through the gate. "I was just gettin' ready to start supper and I thought I'd better come check on you first", Mamaw said.

Mamaw became the doctor, when the doctor couldn't be found or was already on a call too far away. "You sure don't look like you need to be out walkin", Mamaw said. "I'm ok ", answered mother, just had a little backache early this mornin' and I think the pains are getting a little more intense. "And you're just now tellin' me?" questioned Mamaw. "I think we need to get you back to the house.

Well, everyone will always tell you especially mama, which I was never one to take things at a slow pace. It was always now or never. After getting back to the little house we lived in for two years, things picked up the pace. The walk must have put things into motion. Mama's water broke and I was on my way! Her pains weren't as close as they needed to be yet, so Mamaw went looking for daddy and pop, to send them for the doctor.

The sun was settling lower and calmness was in the spring air. It was a beautiful end of the day, but one more task had to be done. I had to get here. Finally, after finding the men and getting them on their way to find Doc Mars,

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