French Story

I have a story about my ancestors.

I have heard that it goes back to France.

The mother always married a louse.

And, she eventually would grow tired.

She'd move back in with her mother then

to grow, yes, all of her kids.

And this cycle then continued

for generations of kids.

Of course, if they were not divorced

there'd be no legal record of this.

Word of mouth, just word of mouth is all I heard.

Still, the stories go all the way back

to before they left France.

Do you think that a woman and her mother

left France together?

Did they take with them a louse

or were they, instead, escaping one?

I like to think that they escaped

from Quebec when the British invaded,

moving south to the Indiana Territory

to a French settlement.

And so they, yes, somehow survived.

Maintaining this pattern,

until my grandmother

had no daughters.

Instead she had a louse.

Had no daughters.

But she still

raised them with her mom!

Her husband was not well! Was not well!

He drank way too much,

and she pretended all was well.

But she, yes, had help.