4 when i was about 13 years old, i left oklahoma for texas with big-un (jesse) richardson. ...in1922, he was the older brother of opal lawson, my brother albert’s wife. i left home because my daddy was mean and beat me all the time and my parents were fighting all the time.bythattime,ihadgraduatedfromtheeighthgrade. big-un and i hitchhiked and stopped in a little town in texas called kendale. we worked the spring chopping honey-dewmelonsandwhenthatjobwasdone,igotajob with an old couple named stowe chopping cotton. big-un leftmeandwenttovisitanunclewholivedinalittletown between fort worth and dallas called kankakee. 4