Memories of Me
A Collection of Short Stories, Essays and Poetry
by
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My mother encountered the proverbial bully at school. Everyday, this big girl, Big Bertha, a fourth grader and too big for her age, would pick a fight with some small child. My mother soon dreaded going to school because she knew that one-day it would be her turn for Big Bertha to jump on her. And Big Bertha was big! She looked as if she weighed over two hundred pounds. She had yellow skin and was as dumb as a toad in school, but she ruled the schoolyard. My mother tried to stay out of her way, but with only about 30-40 children in the whole school, that was difficult. Big Bertha would take your lunch, your syrup bucket, which held your biscuits and ham, your mother had lovingly prepared for you. The tight lid on the syrup kept the food warm until lunchtime. It was the forerunner of today’s lunch kit. If you were not Big Bertha’s friend, your life was made miserable in the schoolyard. So my mother’s fear of Big Bertha was not imagined. The fear had foundation in reality. She’d seen her reduce boys to tears and send them home whimpering, and she’d seen her beat up little children just for looking at her the wrong way. But my mother was determined that Big Bertha was not going to take her lunch. She’d told her mother and brothers about Big Bertha and how scared of her she was. Her mother had told her, "Thel, (that’s what she called her) you either have to run or fight. And if you run once, you’ll have to keep running." Her brothers were not there to help her. The oldest one, Robert, was too old for school; Albert was sickly, he had asthma; and Acie was just a baby, not in school. So, this burden was hers to bear. So, when Big Bertha approached her at lunchtime, she already knew what she would say. Big Bertha stood in front of her, blocking her path, her feet planted wide apart, her arms folded across her ample chest, and said loudly, "Hey, li’l ol’ black gal. Gimme yo’ lunch bucket!" My mother, too frightened to answer her, just gripped her lunch bucket even tighter. She wrapped her little arms around the lunch bucket and put her face down on the lid. She was a tight ball of fear, she and the lunch bucket became one as if fused together.
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Memories of Me
About the Author
Kathryn Weisner Johnson, 1938- Memories of Me I was born on November 29, 1938 in Karnack, Texas, located in East Texas, twenty-miles from Shreveport, Louisiana, only minutes from the Louisiana border. Karnack is also the birthplace of Lady Bird Johnson, wife of former president, Lyndon Baines Johnson. The fifth of six children, the baby girl, I graduated from George Washington Carver High School (now Karnack Elementary) where I also went through elementary school. It was what is now known as an el-hi school. My parents, James and Thelma Weisner were hard working and God-fearing. My dad was a day laborer and a farmer while my mom worked as a cleaning lady and later the school dietician. After graduating from high school, I attended Prairie View A & M College (now University) graduating summa cum laude in 36 months from 1957-1961. My major was Elementary Education with a minor in Library Science. I married my college sweetheart in 1961, worked in Houston area public schools as a teacher-librarian, moved to Hawkins to be with my husband and began raising a family. I received my Masters Degree in Library Science from Atlanta University in 1967, just before the birth of our third son. I worked as a college librarian for the next 29 years and retired from Southern University on September 30,1998. I spent 27 years as a Jehovah’s Witness, leaving that group in 1997, and became a confirmed Episcopalian, September 29, 1999, at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge. We have five sons (the youngest is 23) and seven grand children. I now spend my time working in the church as volunteer secretary, President of the ECW (Episcopal Church Women), College Liaison for the ECW Board, Diocese of Louisiana: playing bridge, and writing. My favorite hobbies, besides playing bridge, are crossword puzzles and word deciphering (seeing how many words can be found in a particular word). Thanks. Kathryn Johnson