Ruby Boozer 1933

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It was 1933, and life was very hard. Ruby, 11 yrs old, was very, very sick that morning. All the other kids were up ready to start the day and Grandma was cooking breakfast while she and Grandpa discussed how to get Ruby to the hospital. The closest one was in Memphis, about 30 miles away and living on a houseboat with no car or other means of transportation meant it wasn’t going to be easy. Everything had been lost in the flood of 1927 including the boat that Grandpa supported his family with, by transporting people, crops and livestock up and down the Mississippi.
With four other little ones at home and one on the way, Grandma couldn’t take her. So Grandpa got ready to start the long trip and walked out the door carrying Ruby in his arms. Grandma cried, not wanting to let go but she hugged her and kissed her fevered brow, telling her that she loved her and that her daddy was taking her to the hospital where they would take care of her. Ruby cried. She wanted Grandma to go but they all knew there was no way that she could make that long trip on foot, especially carrying Ruby.
It was a cool September morning when they left headed to the hospital. The pain that Ruby felt was excruciating. Each step that Grandpa took, each move he made, only caused more unbearable pain for Ruby and she moaned and groaned all the way, almost delirious with fever. 
Grandma couldn’t focus on anything after they left, but her little girl and how sick she was. She prayed that Grandpa got to the hospital on time and that the doctors had taken care of her baby. She cried for Ruby, unable to ease her pain in any way. And she counted the hours, waiting to hear the news that Ruby was going to be ok.
Finally, after an 8 mile walk to Hughes, the train arrived and they got on board for the ride to Memphis. Although Grandpa was able to catch his breath and rest his feet a little, the ride did nothing to ease the pain that Ruby was feeling, but it was getting them faster toward some help. As the train pulled into Memphis, Grandpa hurried to be the first person off and get to the hospital as soon as possible. Stepping off of the platform, he carried Ruby in his arms and turned towards the hospital. As he walked, Ruby settled into his arms and the pain seemed to ease a little. In fact the pain eased a lot. 
But when they arrived at the hospital, Grandpa realized that Ruby had died in his arms. The doctor pronounced her dead, but Grandpa couldn’t leave her there, so he turned around and began the long trip back home with Ruby in his arms. 
He walked back to the train station and waited for the next train to Hughes. His heart was broken because his only little girl was gone. As he rode the long train ride to Hughes, Ruby at peace in his arms, he went over in his mind, how Grandma was going to take the loss of their precious little girl.
He wished he didn’t have to walk back to the house with Ruby in his arms so that he could break it to her gently but there was no other way. He knew she would want to see her one last time so he had to carry her home. The train pulled to a stop in Hughes and grandpa slowly rose to his feet with his heavy burden in his arms and stepped off the train. He trudged slowly towards home, dreading the look on grandma’s face when she saw him carrying Ruby up the road. He had spent the entire day with Ruby in his arms only to bring her back home to bury her. As he got closer to the house, Grandma saw him coming and ran to greet them. She was so happy that they were back home and she could see even from far away, that Ruby was sleeping peacefully in Grandpas arms. But as she got closer she saw the tears rolling down Grandpas cheeks and knew without him saying a word, that her little girl was gone. 
He carried her in to her bed and Grandma sat beside her for hours trying to come to terms with her death. Then she carefully and lovingly prepared her daughter for burial. Grandpa and the boys built a pine box and they wrapped her in her favorite quilt and laid her in the box. A farmer around Forest City offered them a small plot on his farm to bury her. Grandpa and the boys dug the hole on the hillside and placed the small pine box inside. With heavy hearts they said goodbye to Ruby. She was only 11 years old and she had died from appendicitis.

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