Mama's Gun and a Postage Stamp-F

The postage stamp had now fallen off the envelope but not lost. Tucked away in the box was the stamp that authorized a letter from a mother to her son. Nearby was another stamp with the face of President Eisenhower, but this one bore the image of Stars and Stripes and the White House. Long before cell phones and the internet, there was the landline telephone, but mom had no such communication device. It only cost her a .08 cent postage stamp to make contact with me. Postmarked October 21, 1971, was the letter I received from my mother. I was then living in Chicago, four years and 615 miles removed from where I was born. In condensed form, the following is the letter from my dear mom: "I have been a little upset because somebody broke in on us the first Sunday night. I didn't get the chance to see who it was because Juanita woke up and he ran. He didn't bother anybody, but I don't know what he was intending to do. That is the first time anything like that ever happened to me, but I thank God for waking the child up. I won't sleep that sound any more. I keep my gun by my bed. So the next time I will be ready for him. Excuse this bad writing. Mama is still nervous a little. I am fine so far. So glad you are getting you a wife. Hurry and get out of school and get her before someone else gets her. (Smile). Goodbye, Mama". I had forgotten that mama inherited daddy's gun and I never realized that she knew how to use it. So when mama shared her troubles with me, I was happy for things being all right and mighty proud of mama for knowing how to use a gun. By the way, I took mama's advice concerning the girl. I don't know what happened to mama's gun, but I still have the .08 cent postage stamp. The flag still waves and The White House still stands, but the postage stamps are now .50 cents. 07212018cjPS