 |
| Daddy at Home with Muff & Me 1976 |
THE TRUE STORY OF HARD TIMES - Part 2
He sat on the “shoe throne” on Magazine Street, reading the States-Item. He had a philosophy about shoes: “I walk miles in a day - some people buy a Cadillac to get around - I buy Florsheim - the best damn pair of shoes a man can own. And I keep ‘em shined and buffed. Shoes tell a lot about a man…”
Few know the reason why Hard Times didn’t own a car. Most presumed that he was too broke to buy one…the truth is, he had made a promise to God in the late 1930’s that he would never drive again…He had been in love with a woman - Eva Mae Smith - the only woman he had ever loved. But he wasn’t the marrying kind - and she wasn’t any other kind! He was having the time of his life traveling around the states following the horses he trained - and having a little tryst with Mary Pickford. Mary was a silver screen icon and took a real fancy to him. The two of them were pretty fiery - their spats were public and even made it into the newspapers. That’s how Eva Mae found out - and what triggered the whole “I’ll never drive again” vow…
Eva Mae - a pretty fiery gal herself - lowered the boom: “It’s over, Earl.” She was ten years younger than him, quite the beauty, and just as stubborn as him. She had values - never slept with him or even allowed any lingering kisses - and that was one of the things Hard Times loved about her. They were in his little yellow coupe, parked on St. Charles Avenue, when Eva Mae ended their four year on-and-off affair. She squeezed out of the tiny car, took off her heels, and walked away. Earl knew she meant what she said. He knew what he had to do to get her back. But he couldn’t - he just couldn’t settle down in one town with one woman and work a nine-to-five crappy job…
“Life ain’t worth living without her. It ain’t worth living with her, either”, is how my Daddy described his decision dilemma that day. On impulse, he drove his little coupe directly onto the rails of an on-coming street-car…It was a miracle that he survived!
“The Big Man in the Sky saved me that day…I told Him, “I ain’t ever driving again - and I’m gonna marry that woman.” He never did drive again. And he married that woman…
My memoirs of Daddy to be continued...
That girl in the picture looks exactly like Britt. Is that you?! WOW! Also, is Eva Mae your mom? That's a beautiful name, and it would explain the namesake!
ReplyDelete