A memoir of Grace “Slick” Joplin

Chapter 2.6 The Girl from Janis’s Cottage

Mummy started to write her next book as fall turned into winter. My uncles advised her not to, claiming her writing would not to her any good. Mother just said: “Writing is the only thing I know to do well, a can’t live in fear of the darkness in my mind, it is just not possible.”

I did not mind, listening to her typing, while going to sleep, brought sweet memories from good times before the was sick.


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Later at the heights of Winter, on a frosty Sunday, David came home from fishing and invited me into the town. A place I almost only came with the school bus. We had no car. At first, he took me to the Rags to Riches, an amazing store where you could find the most wonderful things, art, furniture, anything. We did not have any money though, David came to sell.


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David met a young lady he called Benni at the store, most likely not accidently, but I did not think about it then, he brought us both to a frozen lake and we had such fun, ice skating and building snowmen. On the way home in the taxi David told me that he had become very good friends with Miss loveless and that he would probably move in with her. He moved out just a few weeks later, after selling his bird to pay mothers bill before he left. He did not bring any money with him, definitely not what Miss loveless was after.


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Uncle David moving out was hard on me, even harder on Muddi, the first month he would often cross the street, jumping up on Miss loveless bench hoping for David to come out. David could not let him in, with two cats inside his new home.


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You may wonder why a free spirit like David, would suddenly put all his eggs in one basket. I soon found out. David would often come around with a fish or something hanging out to chat for a few hours, so I haven’t visited him previously.

I was curious and one day went over, at first just to look trough the windows, but Miss Loveless saw me and came out to invite me in. Contrary to what I expected, children listen to a lot of rumors, she was very nice. The huge surprise thought was that she was also pregnant. Could hardly be anything but David’s child.


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