A Tourist in Mayberry

Question 2: How did Magdalena's Dad Go From Worse to Better to Worst Ever?

* Held mama's face under the dirty dishwater in the kitchen sink until mama got choked and threw up.

* Ran over a kitten on purpose with the lawnmower.( I can't even think about this one without getting nightmares).

* Threw the baby's blankie in the fire. It was so ratty, it probably needed burning, but you just don't throw a baby's blankie into the fire. The blankie that comforts and lulls the baby to sleep. Thrown in the fire, right in front of a screaming baby.

* Shots fired as Magdalena ran next door to get help. Trying to kill her or scare her? Does NOT matter if they were shots fired at her or over her head because it is all about perception, and her perception was - she was out of her mind terrified!

* Spit tobacco on the baby in the carrier, like a game. Yelled "10 points" when he hit her. Yelled " bullseye" when the tobacco juice hit her on the head.

We kept this list with the dates so when we were called to testify we would have dated notes to reference. We were naive. We believed someone out there was waiting to save my friend and move her and her family to a happy home.

Help never came.

We got serious and deadly with our plans. Is it any wonder we plotted Randall Michael Wall's demise? We were too scared of him to outright kill him, but it does not mean we didn't think of ways to rid the world of him. Poison? Rat poison, easy to get your hands on, but probably easily traced. Accidental shooting? We were terrified of guns, understandably since shots were routinely fired off the back deck and sometimes in our direction. Brake failure? Used often in the tv shows we watched, but we knew nothing about cars, and worried the brakes would fail when the family was in the car.

We thought of a myriad of ways to rid the world of Randall Michael Wall, but in the end we were too afraid, and we were children, and thus full of false hope we held for rescue.

We believed in rescue until middle school. By then, we had watched a lot of TV and read a lot of books and knew we were on our own, we would have to make our own fate. We began to take a different kind of note. We began to chronicle Randall Michael Wall's movements in order to figure out who he worked for and what he did for a living. We were hoping if we connected him to crimes not involving his family, maybe someone would care. These notes included references such as:

* Gone for two days. Car has red mud on tires.

* Found receipt from gas station in Lubbock, Texas. What is in Texas? Later, found another one from Amarillo, Texas. What is in Texas?

* Not drinking today, quiet, slept 24 hours, woke up and stayed on the phone all afternoon.

* Went to drug store. Talked to pharmacist. Left with package. No one sick at the house.

* Hardware store trip. Purchased various tools, including a saw, a hammer, a shovel. Never fixed anything in his life.

During the time from 3rd grade until the summer all hell broke loose, our notes on Magdalena's dad were brief, specific, and increasingly terrible in scope. Then, overnight there was change. If you read our notes from this time, you will be able to pinpoint the time frame where things began to change. Chronologically, it goes something like this: crazy, unpredictable violence to still crazy mean at times but with a more controlled calm. Magdalena's dad began acting differently around his family about the fall of our 7th grade year. Magdalena's dad was still mean and nasty, but not to an extreme. He did not go too far. Social Services did not visit once in those years because there was no questionable bruises on babies or unexplained broken limbs.