My grandmother, my mother’s mother, was known and addressed by all as Mama Carr. She had a hardscrabble life. She was born in the Ozark Mountains in 1897. She later moved with her family to Indian Territory around Tom Joad country near what is now Sallisaw, Oklahoma. Later she would share crop with my grandfather near Warner, Oklahoma in an area lovingly known as Ignorant Ridge.
Along the way she had 11 children, 9 of whom made it to adulthood. Her only son died in WWII becoming a well publicized war hero with his final actions. All her daughters went on to live respectable lives. Mama Carr was charitable, almost to a fault, but she did not tolerate slackards or drunkards. She was a Pentecostal who for some reason never went to church, but she was a very religious woman. She was kind in any number of ways, but she also had a temper and a bit of a mean streak. Continue reading “Pass the Black Flag Please”