It was Halloween night and my five year old son and I had just gotten home from trick-or-treating. I got him out of his circus clown costume, washed him up and had him brush his teeth and then we were off to bed.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcwtZKxujG
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“I sure am glad that you're my son,” I told Jace after we had finished reading his storybook for the night.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20KGsXG2zb
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“I'm glad you're my daddy, too,” he replied.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEXJJpbI4n
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I leaned in and snuggled him against me, “Alright,” I said, “It's hug time and then sleepy time.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG41B2MXRWq
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Jace gave me a tight hug and laid up against me until he was in the verge of sleep. “I used to be your daddy,” he said in a dreamy, half conscious manner. The look on his five year old face was dead serious. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNIUrqIupG
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Raising my eyebrow I said, “No, silly boy. I've always been your daddy.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7i2S9eQwoX
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“Nuh uh,” he quickly responded. “I used to be your daddy and you used to be my daughter.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBOYYzYGdx
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“What are you talking about, crazy butt?” I asked him.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAk0O5L7nvx
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“Back when we lived in Minnesota,” he said. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdwskAZyvD
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“Minnesota?” I said. “We've always lived right here.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Ew8q7MUOr
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“Nuh uh,” he said again. “First we lived in the homeland and then we comed to America on a ship. It was stinky and made mama’s tummy hurt. She was glad when we got off it.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQo3CqRMulz
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“Have you been learning about immigrants at school?” I asked him with half a smile on my face.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54bG846og8
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A puzzled look swept across his face. “What's an injagrent?” he asked. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDlWa4N4fJ
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“An immigrant,” I answered. “A person who came here from another country.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhllTTNDHH6
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“Like we did?”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdo3iPbpwoX
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“Not like we did. We have always lived here.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTa2706dwY
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“Daaaaaaad,” Jace responded, “I tolded you! We used to live in Minnesota!”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28EpGUPNOu
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“You're telling stories, sir,” I said to him and gave him a quick tickle. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7ozE2eeaT
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He laughed. “No I'm not!” he said. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfbTxS18cZ
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“Well if we came over on a ship,” I said, “then how did we get to Minnesota?”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3U2MOpXbQD
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“Mama didn't like the town we were in, so she said that we needed to go somewhere else,” he responded. “She said it was too crowded and people were mean.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0hvei7kfP
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My half smile turned into a look of pure curiosity. Where had he heard these things? Had he maybe seen a documentary on tv? Where was he getting this information?841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpbGo9Xewh
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“How did we get to Minnisota?” I asked him.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZM2ldH9kq9
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“Me and mama workded until we could buy a two horses and a wagon. Then we rode and walked. It was a long way.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHlma4Ms0A
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“A very long way,” I said. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfm5dMdVBLt
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“But we gotted there after a while,” he said. “And then we made a farm.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFK4TuH3vC6
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“We were farmers?”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUKyHenzP0
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“Yeah, but it wasn't easy. Mama cried a lot.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhx7fhb7UE4
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“Why did mama cry?” 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0pqHxg3bJ
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“Cuz she missed the homeland and her little sister.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CcuZ6JFUp
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I was taken back by the conversation my five year old son and I were having. He had never told me a story like the one he was telling me. It was unnerving listening to him to provide answers with such clarity.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8GVeDLiiw
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“Well,” I asked, “were we good farmers?”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZEpwGm8QA
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Shaking his head he said, “No. The dirt wasn't very good and I didn't really know how to do it good. You and mama had to get jobs in town. That's where you met him.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9u6RQ0HC8
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The way he had said “him” was curious. He said it with no small amount of bitterness. “Who did I meet?”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTISIK041gm
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“The red headed boy from the farm next door,” he answered without pause. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8jAasLMdy
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“Was he a nice boy?” I asked. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT62f1xOGeE
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“No,” he replied. “He took you away from your chores and you wanted to spend all your time with him.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQZ4ppgfnp
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“Was he a boyfriend?” I questioned.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCYfqcSwmg
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“No. I told you no daughter of mine is going to be married to a spud eater,” he said. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6isgF025P
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“A spud eater?” I asked. “What's that?”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGphJyWbVP
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“I can't remember,” he said. “It was cuz he was innish I think.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOqH5aXns3
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“Innish?” I inquired.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoHkqG99UM
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“Yeah, innish,” he answered. “His family comed over on a boat, too.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSvxE5rXXl
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“Irish?” I asked. “Do you mean he was Irish?”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhivAOtBH1
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“Yes,” he said sleepily. “Irish. That was it.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWitNVrtUq
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I became very concerned. Where had he heard this? Had someone been been using racial slurs around my son? Maybe someone at school?841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfd4MifE1F
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“You didn't like him because he was Irish?”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3inSh5DM7
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“Yeah,” he responded immediately. “I told him to stay away, but you kept sneaking out to see him.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBf0ht0KVkS
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“Did mama care that I was visiting the Irish boy?”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NdFuEej7H
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“No. She said he made you happy, so we should be happy, too.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wD3r24GfU
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“Were you happy?”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0c5bNHuVwg
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He got quiet.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgQ06sSz9O
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“Well?” I said.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dx4Kszj8f
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“No,” he answered. “I told you you couldn't visit him no more and you runned away with him.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RQEfKWSav
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“I ran away?” 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXEmddh2ZFH
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“Yeah. But you didn't get very far.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zpo5uQ4kY
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“I didn't?” I asked. “Did you bring me home to be with you and mama?”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALS2CfKPrx
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“No. When I founded you you said you weren't coming home and the red headed boy told me to go away,” he said. “But I told him you was my daughter and you was coming home with me.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJYejlpQth
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“Was he very happy about that?” I asked; not really wanting to know the answer. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDVz4qPOnv
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“He weren't happy at all,” Jace responded. “He tried to whack me.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SUnKbMcEE
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“He tried to whack you?” I said.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaXPtCUPKh
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“Yeah,” Jace replied, “But I whopped him with a wood chopper and he falled down.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJbf05U2le
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I sat in a stunned silence for a moment. I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of my son’s mouth. I didn't want to know, but I had to ask. “A wood chopper?”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcRF3XDi6M
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“I whopped him with one,” he said. “He didn't try to whack me no more.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMe587eZbl
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“So what did I do?” I cautiously asked him.841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXt992iH0q6
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“You comed out and told me you was gonna to go tell everyone in town,” he said in a tired voice. He was on the verge of sleep. “So I whopped you with the wood chopper, too,” he said dreamily. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUX6PSxckBM
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“What?” I said as other words escaped me. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDAJFTgmET
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“I whopped you, too,” he said. “And I digged a hole in the ground and put you two in it.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjV1uOa3tew
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He turned onto his side and started to close his eyes. Sleep was beginning to set in. A chill crawled up my spine and my arm and neck hair was literally standing on end. This couldn't have come from the mind of my five year old. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWxINKYjm6
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“What did mama say?” I whispered. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cxwyRzWMR
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There was silence. I thought he had fallen asleep, but as soon as I sat up and put my feet over the edge of his bed he said in the sleepy voice, “She asked if I found you and I said no. But I knowed where you was. I knowed where you would be forever.”841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLwySstHRK
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And with that the heavy, steady breathing of sleep sat in. I stood up and stared at my sleeping son for I don't know how long. I was shaken. It took me a long time to get to sleep that night. 841Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmnnTkzXOd
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