Daddy was always a little over-protective of us kids as we were growing up but since Mom had went screaming from the house when I was five years old and never came back, we didn't understand what happened until later.
Then, when I was eleven, I remember dad gathering up the four of us and pointing at a pile of all our shoes.
"One day children, those shoes may rebel. They have good soles now, but I want you to all be kind and not step in any nasties. Because one day the shoes may take over the world and since we have taken good care of them, maybe they will mention this to the Boots and we will be allowed to live."
That sent my 17-year-old sister, Edith, following Mama screaming from the house.
