We would empty it, send it back down to him, and then he would go in the house and be frisked by gram.
Neither Charlie, nor Lyda were not liked by the adults. Charlie because he was restless and a hustler, and Lydia because she had such a strong personality. Charlie built a life outside of our family. Betty had the gift of gab. Margie was quiet and distant, even from us. Joey was so cute, and had a personality to match. I was the stubborn and precocious one.
About two weeks after moving in with gram, she found out that our father had gone to court and asked a judge to hand over the trust fund money that was in my brother Joey's name. Shortly before our mother's death, Joey was hit by a truck, and received a small stipend from the insurance company. Our father told the judge that if he could get the money out for Christmas he would be able to get a few things for his children yo open on Christmas morning. He 'forgot' to mention that he had abandoned his children just two weeks before. He told the judge his wife just died, and he wanted to make it a nice Christmas since this was their first Christmas without her.
The judge told him the money had to be used for his children, and if he found out it was not, my father would be arrested. Later, my grandmother went to court for custody so she could get public assistance for us. When she found out what our father had done, she went right to the judge and told him that our father abandoned us and took off with his girlfriend, and the money. The judge was furious. He ordered a warrant for my father's arrest.
Our family story hit the newspapers. Headlines of "Father of 8 abandons children and takes son's money," became all too familiar, especially, the pictures of us around the potbelly stove. Gram loved the attention, as she was getting money hand over fist. We were exploited. People were mailing in money. People wanted to adopt us, but of course, gram would not allow that. She wanted the money, the control, and the power. We never saw any of the money that was sent. But for the first time in our lives, we had a daily meal; and we were thankful.
3 We Hit the Papers
Soon my father was picked up and taken to jail. He blamed his girlfriend, who was also arrested. Both pointed the finger at the other. The woman was still married. The judge sentenced my father to 18 months in prison for fraudulent conversion of funds. We never saw, or heard from him again. The judge put all the money back into Joey’s fund, using his own money. When Joe turned 18, the judge had passed on, but he left it in his last will that Joe would receive the money, and he did.
I remember a woman coming for me one day. She said her name was Sarah. She took me shopping and said I could have whatever I wanted. I asked for an ice cream soda, and she laughed. We went to Horn & Harnett’s restaurant. We had a big lunch, and I got my ice cream soda. We left the restaurant, and she took my hand. It felt so good to hold her hand. This is the first time I had this kind of attention from an adult. Next, we went to a big department store in center city.
The city seemed like another world to me, with the hustle of the people crossing the streets, and the big tall buildings. It looked nothing like our court, or any neighborhood that I visited before for that matter. She picked out a few dresses, socks, and underpants for me. I wore these clothes for years until they were practically torn. The feeling I had when I wore them was that I was someone special.
Sarah took me home. I asked her if she would come back. She said she would, but I never saw her again. I hope when people do these kind things for people that they realize just how much it means to the person they are helping I don’t think she could ever understand just how much it meant to me. I thanked her.
Gram tried to keep our story in the news, but as time went by, we settled into a life with gram and Uncle Ogie. Helen and Mark worked, and eventually, even Lyda got a job. They all had to walk to work, even though it was far. Gram took their entire paychecks. She would go to her daughter’s house for visits, which would last for days at a time, while we were home with nothing to eat. Our days of fending for ourselves came in handy during this time period.
Helen began dating a boy named Pete, with whom she was very smitten. Helen had grown into a beautiful young lady. Years later, I would often say that to her, “You're the lady of the family.” She always looked perfect. Even if she wore the same outfit every day, she managed to look perfectly put together. She wore hand-me-downs that we received from our local parish. She could be scrubbing clothes on the scrub board all day and still looked great. Gram tried to keep Helen away from Pete but for the first time in her young life, she disobeyed an order.
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