It Was Sunday March 2, 1980. Or Shall I Start Back In June 1979 When She Was Just A Twinkle In Her Daddy's Eye? Ok Fast Forward To December of 79. Billie And I Operated An Arcade In Downtown Danville. All Equipped With Pinball Machines, Video Games And Pool Tables. Our Business Was Open 7 Days A Week.
Billie(6 Months Pregnant) Was Standing Not Too Far From The Pool Table Area When She Got My Attention Her Pants Were Wet. Apparently She Had Lost All The Water In Her Womb. She Just Went Into Her 6th Month Of Pregnancy. Her Belly Went Flat As Though She Wasn't Pregnant At All. After Calling Her Doctor She Went In To See Him. He Claimed Some Women Could Not Hold A Large Amount Of Water And Assured Her She And The Baby Were Just Fine. Go Home And Drink Lots Of Water The Doctor Said To Billie. Sure Enough The Next Day Billie's Belly Inflated And She Appeared Pregnant Once Again.
Billie And I Didn't Have Health Insurance And Her Doctor Was Aware Of This. We Had Made Arrangements For Billie And The Baby To Be Dismissed The Day After She Gave Birth. One Of My Grandmothers Didn't Like The Idea But She Wasn't The One Who Paid The Bills Either.
Anyway, Since We Closed The Business Early On Sundays I Instructed Billie To Have The Baby After 6:00 On Sunday Evenings. The Labor Pains Started About 2:00 Sunday Afternoon At The Arcade. We Waited Until The Pains Got 4 Minutes Apart Before Deciding To Go To The Hospital.
Beckie Was Born At 7:30 Sunday Evening March 2,1980. It Was One Of The Joyous Days Of My Life. A Child Was Born To Us When I Thought We Would Never Have The Opportunity To Love A Child. We Called Her Our Miracle Baby.
As She Lay In Her Tiny Bassinet, All Snuggled In Her Blanket, People In The Hallway At The Hospital Would Marvel At The Little Baby With The Bright Red Hair. I Would Proudly Proclaim That's My Girl!
Of Course I Would Make My Wise Cracks When People Would Wonder Where She Got Her Red Hair. My Most Famous Line Would Be My Work Took Me On The Road And I Would Come Home Rusty. Actually For Those Curious Minds Billie's Grandmother Had Fire Red Hair As Well As A Lot Of The Pruitt Branches Of That Tree.
Ok, I Will Admit Her Red Hair Has Been Her Trademark For Most Of Her Life. Not Everybody Is Blessed To Have Red Hair And Be Beautiful At The Same Time. Yes I May Be A Little Prejudice But I'm Her Daddy And It Gives Me Certain Rights.
If You Have Ever Wondered About Whether Or Not The Claim Of Red Heads Having A Temper Is True. Let Me Think About That For A Moment. Ok, Moment Up. Yes, It's True!
I Don't Think It's The Red Hair That Acompany's Her Out Spoken Nature. She May Have Inherited That From Her Daddy.
Daddy Came Very Close To Losing His Little Girl Back In 1998. She Was Riding In A Car With A Boy Who Was Affiliated With A Gang. At A Stop Sign A Car Pulled Up Beside Them And Fired Shots Into Their Car. A Bullet Entered Into Beckie's Chest, Narrowing Missing Her Heart. She Was A Very Lucky Person To Be Able To Survive This Vicious Attack. I Had Recently Quit Smoking And I Can Remember Wanting A Cigarette So Bad. At That Moment Before The Ex-Rays I Was Not Sure If My Daughter Would Survive.
Since That Day She Went To College And Obtained Her GED and Took Courses To Become A Phlebotomist.
She Gave Birth To Her Son Which Is Her World. His Name Is Andres Jaquin Cardoza. Those Who Love And Know Him Call Him AJ.
Today We Celebrate Beckie's Birthday. She Turns 31. There Are Times When I Wish I Could Turn That Number Around And Wish She Was Only 13. She Most Likely Wishes That As Well. Unfortunately None Of Us Can Turn Back The Hands Of Time. Even If We Could We Would Not Change Things Completely.
This Is Your Day Beckie. I Loved You The Day You Were Born. That Love Has Only Grown. Only A Parent Knows This To Be True. I Wish You A Very Happy Birthday Little Girl Of Mine.
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