Coward of the County


(Roger Bowling/Billy Edd Wheeler)

Ev'ryone considered him the coward of the county.
He'd never stood one single time to prove the county wrong.
His mama named him Tommy, the folks just called him yellow,
But something always told me they were reading Tommy wrong.

He was only ten years old when his daddy died in prison.
I looked after Tommy 'cause he was my brother's son.
I still recall the final words my brother said to Tommy:
"Son, my life is over, but yours is just begun.

Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done.
Walk away from trouble if you can.
It won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek.
I hope you're old enough to understand:
Son, you don't have to fight to be a man."

There's someone for ev'ryone and Tommy's love was Becky.
In her arms he didn't have to prove he was a man.
One day while he was workin' the Gatlin boys came callin'.
They took turns at Becky.... There was three of them!

Tommy opened up the door and saw his Becky cryin'.
The torn dress, the shattered look was more than he could stand.
He reached above the fireplace and took down his daddy's picture.
As his tears fell on his daddy's face, he heard these words again:

"Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done.
Walk away from trouble if you can.
It won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek.
I hope you're old enough to understand:
Son, you don't have to fight to be a man."

The Gatlin boys just laughed at him when he walked into the barroom.
One of them got up and met him halfway 'cross the floor.
When Tommy turned around they said, "Hey look! ol' yellow's leavin'."
But you coulda heard a pin drop when Tommy stopped and blocked the door.

Twenty years of crawlin' was bottled up inside him.
He wasn't holdin' nothin' back; he let 'em have it all.
When Tommy left the barroom not a Gatlin boy was standin'.
He said, "This one's for Becky," as he watched the last one fall.
And I heard him say,

"I promised you, Dad, not to do the things you done.
I walk away from trouble when I can.
Now please don't think I'm weak, I didn't turn the other cheek,
and Papa, I sure hope you understand:
Sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man."

Ev'ryone considered him the coward of the county.

Over Easter, my mother, sister and I drove out to Nebraska and Iowa to visit my grandmother. There is some backstory here that is necessary to be mentioned before I continue.

My grandmother, who lives with my step-grandfather, Erwin, was going to have back surgery. Erwin had gotten severe bladder cancer in the past, and now lived with a bag outside of his body that requried changing and such. He needed assistance, and it seemed like it would be an impossible task getting him someone who would take care of him during Grandma's recovery. To our utter surprise, Erwin's youngest son, Gene, and his family, offered to take them in for awhile. Gene, Sherry, and their son Kyle were a very nice family. We were sure, though, that they would be sick of caring for these crotchety and demanding people within days. That didn't happen. They kept them for quite awhile actually, even after the recovery time the doctor had explained my grandma would have to relax passed. These people were too good to be true! They didn't complain or anything, just took them right under their wing, and devoted relentless hours to caring for them. We were happy, until Sherry called us with some bad news.


"Mary (my grandma) has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's."

AhhH! Alzheimer's is the worst disease anyone can get. It is the most painful (emotionally) death anyone can go through, and this was definitely nerve-wracking news. My mother asked Sherry what the doctor had seen that had led to his decision that she was an Alzheimer's patient. Sherry said that it was her dimentia, that she was acting strangely, and she failed several of the memory tests. My mother was not convinced. My grandmother had suffered a horrible childhood, and the way she acted definitely made people wonder. It wasn't that her brain was deteriorating, it was merely the fact that she was lost and didn't really care to even try at the memory tests. That was her hypothesis. But then again, how might one be able to tell with her natural dimentia if she did have Alzheimer's? Could it be proven? My mom asked Sherry to go get a second opinion. Sherry failed to do so.

We were heading out to visit them with this one thing on our minds. We were sure that we were going to help Grandma, and get a second opinion for her. Her hopes had flattened when Sherry had broken the news to her. We hoped we could give her some faith, so she didn't give up on living. It is well known that when someone has no drive to live, they cease to do so.

We arrived at the little house of Sherry and Gene, and were very happy to see our grandparents in fine health. Sherry and Gene seemed to be treating them very, very nicely, and everything was fine and dandy. Then, things changed. We took Grandma out, and the moment she was away from Sherry, the truth came out. Grandma was convinced that Sherry was after their money because she had a gambling problem (It later came out that she was a member of Gamblers anonymous), and in order to get the money they were going to convince everyone that she was incompetent so they could get their paws on her money. Sherry didnt' say nice things to her, and I picked up later the words dripping with disdain that Sherry said to Grandma. Grandma was very upset, and felt helpless, as if she couldn't control her own life anymore. Sherry said that it would be an absurd idea for Grandma and and Erwin to move out into their old house. In fact, she was pressuring them to sell it. So, Mom decided that we were going to help them move out. We found a time during the day that no one but Kyle was home, and we brough Uncle John's truck and ourselves, and we marched in to move them out.

It was tense. Kyle was very upset, because he was at that age where he was old enough to know what was going on but young enough to be oblivious to what his mother was doing. He called his father, who was innocent because he was always overridden by Sherry. And right as we were loading all their stuff on the truck, Gene came back and told his father off for leaving so suddenly. He said that it hurt his feelings. Nicole, Jalena and I cringed at the confrontation, not prepared for it. However, we got them moved. We had to go get their car-keys from Sherry, and when my mom did so, she yelled at her screaming "You are killing your mother! YOU ARE KILLING YOU MOTHER!"

To this day, I don't know what Sherry's real intentions were. I only know what Grandma thought. I'm not even sure if Sherry herself knew what her intentions were. Perhaps it was all in the back of the mind. All I know is that my grandmother and Erwin are happily settled in their home, where they rightfully have the freedom to make their own decisions and take care of themselves.



Oh, and I started a new blog, one where I write a journal as things happen in my life. It's at http://www.justmethewayiam.blogspot.com. Feel free to visit it if you like. Have a nice week everyone! Luv you all! :-*