Jennie Sams, Age 8, Harlan, Kentucky and Manchester, Kentucky:
“I live in two towns because my mom and dad have split custody of me. I kinda prefer Clay County because that’s where I grew up.
I like living in the mountains because you get to hunt. (I’ve hunted) deer, squirrels, rabbits.
My brother, he don’t live with us. My dad has a girlfriend and my mom; she just works.
Sometimes I have sleepovers. One of the fun things I like to do is go to the waterpark. I think it is in Pineville or Barbourville. Barbourville is where it is at. I don’t know how this happened but I went down the blue slide and I came off my inner tube. It got stuck. I got it unstuck and got back on it and then it came out from under me again. At the end I went head first into the water, back flipped and then went into the splits. I landed back up on my feet. I don’t know how that happened.
Once I got bitten by a dog. It was thanksgiving. We had ate and it was the next day. Me and my sister and my cousin went outside. We were sitting on the swing and my sister was gone and my cousin was gone for 5 seconds and I went to pet the dog and it bit my face. I had to go to the emergency room. First, we got t-boned by a truck on the way to the emergency room. My uncle was behind us so me and my mom, my dad and my brother and me got in the car with my uncle. So as soon as they started trying to put stitches in my face I started screaming. They had to give me medicine to knock me out. Then when I woke up they were still doing it and I threw another fit. I think I was four or five.
My mom’s dad worked in the coal mines. In the coal mines you have to dig the coal and put it in carts and push the carts and then put it on coal trucks. The coal trucks take it to where it has to go. They use it for electric.
My mamma likes to do flowers. She’s usually cleaning, sweeping, mopping. She does the work and my aunt and cousin live with her. My cousin wants everything. All she eats is sweets and stays in the house. She never goes outside. I have to drag her to get here to come down. When I get her to the stairs she says ‘OK, OK I’ll go’. I have to drag her to the first stair, then she’ll go. Then I kinda have to drag her out the door on her feet. She don’t want to do anything. I have to make her do it.
My aunt’s car’s quit working.
I’m a hillbilly. Hillbillies usually don’t dress up.”