𝔰𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖗 𝖔𝖋 '67

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 1

It was the summer of '67,

I was sixteen years old living in the most thriving times of the century but if you were stuck in the south such as myself, that wasn't really the case for you. I grew up on the suburban side of Tulsa, Oklahoma but fourteen months after my birthday, my family and I started our new lives in the state of Kansas. Since we have not been back, my family decided to take a trip and spend the summer there and visit our other family members. The car ride from Kansas to Oklahoma was about four hours long and the heat was unbearable... There was nothing like a hot day in the south.

"Move over!" My older sister Anna complained as she pushed me up against the window, "Cut it out!" I yelled as I tried shooing her away from me. For someone who was older than me, she sure didn't act like it.

I rolled down the window and stuck my head out. The wind in my hair and the breeze in my face. I was just so eager to see my cousin in Tulsa. Steve and I have always been the closest cousins. He was only a year older than I was, grew up in the same town and went to the same school. Since I had to move away, Steve and I would write each letters or often talk on the phone from time to time, we always tried our best to keep in touch with each other.

The reason my family and I moved to Kansas because my father is a Doctor and he got transferred to a different hospital, "Wherever the money goes, we follow" Is what my father said to us. I remember being so angry at him, thinking to myself how he could just leave everything behind? But when it came down to it, I guess you can say I was a "daddy's girl" My father and I enjoyed most of the same hobbies, like studying different cultures and arts from around the world. It was so fascinating to see and learn what was going on around us in the world.

I skipped through pages of a magazine, I was bored out of my mind. I looked over to my mother, who was applying lipstick and admiring her looks in the car mirror. That's where Anna gets it from... I thought, rolling my eyes. My mother was too into her looks and she wouldn't be caught dead leaving the house without her makeup and hair done. I guess you can say my family had more money than others since Dad is a doctor and Mom works at some business firm. Honestly couldn't tell ya, seems like the only work she puts in, revolves around vanity.

Mom was the opposite from her brother, who was Steve's father and my Uncle Kenny. She had a successful life and he didn't but if it hadn't been for my father's family and his job, my Mother would've be stuck in the same situation her brother dug himself and his suffering family into. When Kenny still had his job as a mechanic, Steve didn't grow up poor, more considered of middle class but it bothered my mother that Uncle Kenny dragged the "Great" Randle name into the mud. At the time, Kenny and Steve are the last Randle males in our family. My Uncle Kenny rather spend his time in sleazy bars till three o'clock in the morning and rely on Steve and my Aunt Jeanie to take care of the house and bills. I never really liked my Uncle, though I tried not to show it. He was exactly the man my mother and Steve described; Abusive, cold, and mean.

My mother said he wasn't always like that but life happens and people handle to take it in many different ways, whether they are ready to face the ultimate consequences of their actions or not but seems Uncle Kenny always finds a way to get out of them...

We were only five minutes away from Tulsa. Anna was sleeping, my mother was reading a book, and Daddy and I were talking about College. Since I was going into my senior year of High School, It was time for a set plan and I wanted to have a life and career where I could only rely on myself instead of a man, unlike my mother. The times were changing, which means more opportunities in the future for girls like me. I was fascinated by History and what the stories tell about us in our human affairs and events. My family and I were huge into traveling, so it was easy to express to my mother and father about what sort of direction I wanted to go in and my goal was to succeed in it.

We finally passed by the sign that read, "Welcome to Tulsa, Oklahoma" I nudged Anna's leg, "Hey Anna, look we're finally here!" I exclaimed.

She turned her head to me, "I don't care Riz, leave me alone!" She replied rudely... Riz was my nickname. And that's what everybody called me. Even people I met for the first time, I introduced myself as Riz. It was just the nickname my father gave me when I was a little girl. And I didn't mind telling anyone my real name unless they asked.

I crossed my arms, "I can't wait till I get out of this damn car! Cause once I am, I'll finally be away from you" I said with an attitude.

Anna scoffed, "Fine by me little sis"