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Enid was the most boring existence possible. First, we were Texans living in an area of Oklahoma whose residents didn't like strangers, especially those from Texas. Second, we lived in a trailer park about three miles from town and there were no other kids my age in the area. The only saving grace about Enid was the locusts (17 year cicada). They were everywhere and they made great noises. I would catch dozens of them or shoot them with my BB gun. I tried using them as bait in the nearby pond but they were bigger than the fish in the pond. Our neighbors across the street had moved in at the same time that we did and we had known them in Perryton. The only reason I remember them is that the woman had just given birth to a baby girl and she was the first woman I had ever see breast-feed. She had no shame and whipped out the chow whenever the kid was hungry. One night, we were having supper at their house and, without warning either Dutch or me, she pulled open her blouse and out plopped her breasts. She commenced to feed the baby and didn't even notice how embarrassed Dutch and I were. We both got up as quick as we could and I went outside to play.
Taken from the manuscript "Out of the Deep", by Robert L. Goehring. Published 1995, 1998.
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