More Harold

 O.K. Daddy was livid, Mother was upset and me, I was scared!  Harold's parents came over, they and my parents had a long discussion.  Harold and I just sat and listened.  Harold asked if I could move in with them & they said yes. So I moved in with the Johnson's and decided I'd finish school where Harold had graduated, Garner High. That way, I could catch the school bus and be delivered on time. I enrolled and I think I ended up going maybe a week total, then I just quit altogether. Oh well, such is life...my life anyway!
  Harold and I broke up maybe three times (same as when we were dating), and in the end moved down to Washington NC to live with my bio father and his wife. Harold had a job the following day, scraping barnacles off boats. We had an old A-Model Ford. I had nothing but the clothes on my back and my purse. Daddy had said, ' If you go back to him again, you will not be welcome in this house.'  I found out when I called home one day that he had locked everything down tight so that I couldn't get in.
 We lived in Washington for about three months..(what is this 'three' thing). Anyway, Harold took off work one day and we drove to Raleigh, ( I had bought a couple of things during this time to wear) I had to get some of my clothes. I called when we got in town and talked with John, who was close to seven years old at the time. I asked him if he'd open the back bedroom window when I got there so that I could get in the house.  He did.  I got my clothes and we were off again.
  When we finally moved back to Raleigh, we rented a small upstairs apartment down the street from his parents. Started going back to Church and I got a part time job at Belk's. I later found a job at a dry cleaning plant, through my long time, very best friend Ann. .( Ann's and my life have been paralled in so many ways..we went from grade school through high school together, we were both very young when we married; we both had girl's first.. close to the same age, then we each had a boy, then another girl. Our kids played together, we exchanged baby clothes, she, Dickie, Harold and me would always get together to play cards or do anything that didn't involve spending any money...because we didn't have that much to spend. All through our lives we have stayed close. Harold died of a brain aneurysm..four years later Dickie died of a severe brain injury working with a job that Harold had helped him get with the State. To this day, Ann and I are still the very best of friends. We know things about each other that no one else has the priviledge of knowing.)
I worked at that cleaners and another one until I became pregnant at eighteen. We had moved to several apartments until that time.
 On February 10th, 1958 we had our first child, Carol Michelle. She was beautiful and looked just like her Granddaddy Johnson. Big blue eyes, olive skin and dark hair.  As soon as I saw her, I said, " I want another baby." Her Grandmother Johnson always said she was going to grow up to be Miss America. (she wasn't spoiled too much though). I went back to work only when someone was going on vacation and I could fill in for a week.
  Eighteen months later I got my wish. We had a son, Larry Neil on June 6th 1959. He was a Ragland boy, (only without the big nose, thank You God); he had his Granddaddy Johnson's nose. During his childhood I often said, ' why do I have to grow up with my brother all over again?'..ha!
  When Miki and Neil were babies we lived in a section of a friend's house that had been closed off as a VERY small apartment. One bedroom, small living room and kitchen and tiny bathroom. No hot water, no washer, no dryer (who ever heard of such a thing?) and living on a very limited budget. Poor Harold, he worked a full time job with the State; on Tuesday and Thursday nights he helped a friend pour concrete steps; on Friday nights he worked as a car-hop at a drive in grill and on Saturday's, all day, he worked at a shoe store selling more on Saturday than the full time help sold all week. When the legislature was in session he worked as a page most all night on Monday,
  When Neil came along, we had to put Miki on the couch in the living room. She fell off a couple of times before she got the swing of things, poor baby girl.  I was tired!! I had no car (I had no car license), we were broke most of the time; when Harold didn't have time to take me to his Mothers to do laundry, I'd wash things out by hand (on a scrub board) and hang them over lamp shades or whatever until they dried. Then I'd have to iron them because they were so stiff..(especially the diapers). I wore Harold's socks when it got cold (we were what you'd consider poor). Harold was tired..he worked all the time.

   But somehow, by the grace of God and some occasional help, we made it.
Picture is of Miki and Neil at Christmas  She was almost four and Neil two (right before Luanne was born).