It was the 20th of November, which was my 6th birthday, and the
house parent was going to do something special for me because I had
cleaned all the bathroom floors, showers, sinks and toilets,
upstairs and downstairs. I spent the entire day cleaning the
bathrooms really good and extra special clean because the matron
told me she would bake me a cake and I could give all the boys a
piece while we watched television later that evening. I was really
very happy and excited about that because I could do something nice
for all the boys and everyone would like me and we could all have a
good time.
About six o'clock all the boys took their showers and gathered in
the television room and each boy was asked to stand and to say one
of the ten commandments. When Horace Barnes was called upon he
stood up and said "thou shall not spit" and everyone just about
died laughing because Horace was only three years old and did not
know the ten commandments. I laughed real hard too but I felt sorry
for Horace. When I got my cake I was going to give Horace the first
piece and maybe the biggest piece of all. We all watched television
and talked and I told everyone about my birthday cake and that it
would be ready soon.
Then the house parent called me out of the television room and into
the hallway and asked me if I had taken a piece of the cake. I told
her that I had not touched the cake and that I had not even seen
it. Then she took me into the kitchen and showed me the cake. There
was a big piece torn out of the side and you could see where
someone's fingers had grabbed the cake and torn it out. She took my
hand and placed my fingers into the torn part of the cake and told
me that they fit exactly into the finger slots. I just kept telling
her over and over that I had not touched the cake.
She reached over and turned on the burner to the stove to allow the
burner to get hot. Then she told me that if I did not tell her the
truth that she would put my hand on the hot burner. I still
continued to tell her that I had not taken any of the cake. She
grabbed my arm and pulled me over by the stove and raised my hand
towards the hot burner. I just kept trying to pull my hand and arm
back from the burner and tried not to yell out so that the other
boys would not hear me.
She reached over and turned the burner off and then touched my hand
to the burner real fast and then told me to put it under the water
faucet and then she rubbed butter on it. She told me to go back out
into the television room and wait until she came out.
When I walked back out into the television-room all the boys knew
that something was wrong but they did not say anything. About five
minutes later the matron came out of the kitchen with a plate that
had about fifteen small pieces of cake on it, each about he size of
a quarter. She gave one piece of cake to each one of the boys,
except me and then she told all the boys that I had stolen most of
the cake and that it was my fault that there was not more for them.
None of the boys said anything to me, whatsoever. They just ate
their cake and then they all went upstairs to bed. I had to stay
downstairs and straighten up the television room and then I went to
my bedroom.
When I got to my room there was a small piece of cake about half
the size of a quarter lying on my pillow. I picked up the little
piece of cake and I squeezed it because it was like a sponge and
then I ate it. Then I pulled my bedspread and sheet back and walked
down to use the bathroom.
As I walked past Horace Barnes' room he was sitting on the end of
his bed sucking on his big toe. He pulled his toe out of his mouth
and just smiled at me and then he reached over and picked up a
small piece of cake about half the size of a quarter and put it in
his mouth. Then he waved at me and stuck his big toe back into his
mouth and began to suck again. I just smiled at him and then I
hurried off to the bathroom where I washed my mouth out REAL REAL
GOOD with soap and water and then I went to bed.
That's all I can remember about that happy 6th birthday. Oh! by the
way. Thanks Horace.
Roger Dean Kiser, Sr.
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Roger Dean Kiser, Sr.