Stuck in a Lifetime Movie - part 4

When Arthur Sr. absconded with the boys he moved them way out west to Phoenix, Az. Mind you there were no missing children photos on the milk cartons back then. It was 1933 and there were no " Amber Alerts" sent out when they left. Children were no more than parental-owned chattel. They wouldn't have been reported as missing anyway. Who would have reported it? Not Edna, who would have been living in fear that her husband might come back and kill her.

Orange grove and irrigation ditch

In Phoenix, Arthur Sr. got a a job shearing sheet metal. Grampy is quick to say here that Arthur Sr. was ONLY a shearer of sheet metal. He could NOT read blueprints and work the sheet metal into usable parts. Not like Grampy could after he became an adult—and did for 30 years. Arthur, Sr. was able to find dirt cheap lodgings for him and the boys in a tiny house in an orange grove on the outskirts of town.  In exchange for his low rent, the farmer who owned the fields required him to irrigate the orchard by flooding it with water from a canal several times a week. Easy Peasy, right? Unfortunately the demon of alcoholism does not let go simply because you've changed your address—he followed Arthur, Sr. to Arizona where the man spent his afterhours in sleezy bars and rarely came home before bedtime.

Tex was only 8 and little Willie was 5 but they were both aware that the prospect of homelessness was ever-looming, so every day after school they would trudge over to the irrigation canal and with all their combined might and main, those two boys would attempt to open the flood gates and water the trees.  Tex said at first that they couldn't do it—they simply weren't strong enough. They knew, however, that they desperately needed to get this done. They knew they were in for a beating from their dad if the fields didn't get watered and the fact that the were just two small skinny, helpless boys would not prevent their backsides from a tanning—not from a mean drunk with a leather belt itching to be used.

After several failed attempts, and several lashings with the belt, either they developed enough strength to open the canal gate or a kind-hearted angel took pity on them and helped, for they did eventually succeed, and it became their regular after-school chore.

They lived like this in Arizona for a good long time. Being the oldest, Grampy learned to cook for him and his little brother. Well, he learned to open a can and heat it on the stove anyway. One morning their dad decided to make himself some corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. Grampy says his dad was half blind with a hangover but stumbled into the kitchen and opened the cupboard, reaching for a can of Hash. Unfortunately he'd gone to the store the day before in the same condition and had brought home several cans of “Dash” instead of “Hash”. We Baby Boomers remember that “Dash” used to be a popular canned dog food. Tex and Willie just watched him open the can, plop in into the frying pan and fry that dog food up. After he considered it done, their dad cracked open a few eggs on top as well. Willie started to say something to his dad....Tex silently shushed him. They both watched in delight as their dad took a plateful of Dash and Eggs to the table and commenced to eat it. “Come on boys, have some breakfast!” he told them, chomping his breakfast. “Um noo....we're not hungry” they said. “Dad”, Tex begain as he motioned Willie out the back door. Then (quickly over his shoulder as they dashed out the door) “YOU'RE EATING DOG FOOD!” They ran lickety split to the end of the orange grove, laughing hysterically all the way. Their dad was too sick and too mortified to persue them....this time.

Yum Yum DASH!

Sometimes their dad would decide to leave the boys so he could go off on a jaunt to who-knows-where, either on his own or with a new girlfriend or wife. (he married three or four more times before he died. Grampy doesn't remember the exact count) Most of the time he schlepped them back to Massachusets and left them with his sister. Tex described her as one notch better than her demon-posessed brother. One time Arthur, Sr. left them for several months in a local Catholic orphanage. Tex won't talk about it except to say he left that place with no love for the Catholic church, let alone the abusive nuns who ran the place. He has harbored that low opinion of all things Catholic ever since, and over the years has broadened his loathing to every other Christian religion as well. Now I grew up surrounded by nuns in the Catholic schools I went to, (I was in for 12 years and I'm still out on parole) and in their defense I must say that the majority of them were loving, caring and encouraging women and I only met one who rapped my knuckles with a ruler. But she was horribly senile and was put out to pasture the year after I graduated so I don't count her.