you can't choose your parents

you can't choose your parents

fiction
edward w pritchard


Technically Lacy and I weren't cousins at all having the same Mother but different father's but right there on the program of high school graduation for Morgan town high 1942 it listed Ma as Lacy's Mother and me as his cousin. Technically as well this wasn't Morgan town's graduation but Osage's a
mining town about eight miles from Morgan town where the coalmines were located and because of the War  Mr. x owner of the Mining company had donated use of the company store in Osage for the graduation ceremony of the auxiliary students from Osage receiving their high school diploma. Just Lacy and Sharon X,  Mr. X's only child  were graduating and of course Sharon was valedictorian coming from the wealthiest family in this part of the State and Lacy was headed for work in the mines.

No matter to Ma, she spent two days sewing Lacy a  new graduation suit from a few old potato sacks
someone had abandoned out by the railroad tracks. More than anything Ma wanted to see Lacy walk across the stage. So I sat with Ma listening to Sharon X drone on about her plans at the Ohio State University come fall and I worried I would be fired if I was late for my four o'clock shift at the mine. I kept thinking maybe I should ask Mr. X for a note explaining why I was late to work today.

No matter to me either really. Me and lacy had signed up yesterday for the War and with any luck  we will be shipped overseas to fight the Japs or Germans soon. Secretly I wished as I sat there on a broken egg crate listening to Sharon X talk about sorority life at OSU maybe Lacy and me would get blown up defending our country and my younger brother Lacy wouldn't have to work underground whacking out coal 4 pm to midnight for the rest of his life should he survive military service to his county.