TEENAGER HERO GIRL STEPS UP TO THE VACUUM
I Saved My Family From a Horde of Hatched Maggots
At 17, I was a girl who took matters into her own hands
A pheasant flew down our chimney. There it remained, lodged in the tight brick chamber. How do these things happen?
Birds have wings, fly around, and make mistakes. This pheasant was stuck like a child gets stuck in one of those Chinese finger traps with holes at both ends.
I hope it died a fast death. I don’t remember hearing the flap of wings as we watched The Brady Bunch or Love American Style. It was 1977.
Soon I would be put to a test.
At 17, I was driving my own car, a powder blue Ford Falcon. I think it was a ’64. In the backseat was a Queen T-shirt, an old white bra, and a pair of jeans with a broken zipper. Best to be prepared.
In the glove box was a zippo lighter with DEBBIE engraved on it, and an old pack of Marlboro 100s. An empty pack of birth control pills sat on the passenger seat. My brown leather purse with pink, blue and yellow flowers sat on the seat too.
I pulled in the driveway at home. My brother wasn’t there. Dad had recently bought him a red Corvair convertible. I dreamed about it last night, smiling.
