by Patty E Padgett

Created on: January 16, 2010

Mama said I was a born flirt.

She used to say even though she was asleep at the time and didn’t see it, she could imagine the first thing I did at birth. She said when held up and spanked on the butt, instead of the usual cry, I probably just smiled and batted my big brown eyes at the doctor.

My father was in the Army and overseas most of the first three years of my life. During that time, Mama, my brothers and I would go to the base to buy groceries, see the doctor for check-ups, etc. One of her favorite stories of those days was my own effort at entertaining the troops. I would pull away from her and go to where the soldiers sat in the café, waiting room, wherever, and sing for them. I was always on one lap or another singing at the top of my little lungs, “I Wish I Had A Paper Doll To Call My Own”. That was my favorite and the one I knew best. In the forties, it was safe for a little girl to wander a few feet away and be safe. I loved making the soldiers smile and they all said that I reminded them of a daughter, niece, kid sister, or someone they missed. Sometimes they would buy me and my brothers an ice cream or some candy but the real reward for me was the kinship we shared. They missed their little girls and I missed my daddy.

Once, my singing almost got me into trouble. One Sunday in church while the others were singing a hymn that I did not know the words to, I decided to do a little improvising on my own. I stood up on the pew and proceeded, in a very loud voice, to sing “Pistol Packin’ Mama, Lay That Pistol Down”. It took all Mama’s will power to keep a straight face. Of course, everyone just laughed it off but Mama told me never to do it again.

I don’t know when the shyness set in but by the time I started school, I was terribly shy. One thing was, it didn’t take me long to realize that I was smaller than most of the kids. When I wanted to go out into the hall to get a drink of water, the teacher would have to send one of the taller kids with me to give me a ‘boost’ so I could reach the water fountain. I am not saying that I was dwarf-like or anything like that, just petite. My arms and legs were in perfect proportion to my body and head. I was just a smaller version than most. There were a couple of others who were tiny also. I always looked younger than my years. In later years that became a blessing.

When I was in third grade, we sat at long tables with little cubby-holes

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