Archibald Brothers Part 6

THE OTHER SIDE

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ARCHIBALD BROTHERS

EPISODE 6

KELLY

Ken, Mike, and Richard Archibald had spent a year on the other side of life. 

Living at an orphanage, running around a hotel in Arkansas where their mother worked, and even parenting themselves at a trailer home were beautiful seasons for the Archibald boys. Whether it was stealing Batman toys or playing soccer with a Coke can, the boys had enjoyed a time of pseudo-childhood. But now it was time to return to Margo Street, to a house under the spell of their stepmother, Helen.

RA It was pretty bad in terms of just making fun of me for having friends and saying you know that this is really what you’re like you’re an outcast and nobody really likes you that’s not

MA Yeah welcome back to reality

RA I don’t know house to say it welcome back to what is real 

WELCOME BACK

KELLY

And there was nothing they could do about it. With heavy hearts, they watched their father drive away in his brown truck to work on the road.

MA and you know why did we go from eating Whataburger is that dad would simply just leave us money with or he would always I mean I can remember going to that Kroger off of Gross Street and dad would always want those spreadables that bread and he would get 2 L of Coke

RA You mean potted meat

MA Potted meat brother dad love that stuff we would have pancakes every now and then in the morning I remember now we wouldn’t clean up after ourselves so we’d make pancakes laying on the table all day long and I’m like hey it’s dinner time there’s still some soda syrup I don’t know how long that pancakes been there but I’m going to town on it and we didn’t think anything about it and it was it was a good time but I can just remember why am I going found what we would have a dad which was good eating normal eating for people and now I’m back to just a coffee mug that she would dip into a big old thing of beans and just slide that on a plate and that would be all I have

KELLY

On this episode of Qavah, the adult Archibald brothers begin to piece together the strategies their stepmother used to carry out a terrible plan in their childhood. Something that no one would have ever predicted.

(Music: Theme music)

DO DIVORCED COUPLES EVER REMARRY

RA and I don’t know when that it’s confusing because really I mean they got remarried and I think I knew that at the time because I had that little silly ceremony thing

KA For the kids

RA But I think it was turmoil from then on like I don’t mean just for us I mean constant between them because there is separation together separation together that’s why we lived all these different places because now we’re in you know we’re getting close to middle of 76 and there’s not a whole lot of time left and had some back-and-forth so

MA Well I do know that we were older to your point we experience the greatest  we never had realized that I can remember as a growing kid and I remember it definitely being a harder pill to swallow back in the number one  when I’m older now so standing at the table while I’m eating when I was younger didn’t OK we just don’t have enough but now as I’m older I could say he does some other people can probably stand up

KA right

RA Now we’re getting to where is that kind of stuff started and I don’t know if it was this stay or another stay

KA She start separating you buy food feeding her family certain things and feeding you certain things

RA And there came a time and I don’t know if you were included or not when I didn’t eat either standing up or anything I didn’t get to eat I ate after everybody else ate and then I would come to eat at the table

MA I do remember that yes

RA It was just me it’s like you were saying and then back to washing the dishes and

YOUR DAD IS NOT YOUR DAD

KELLY

Mike and Richard were amazed as they recalled the ways that Helen played with their minds. 

MA That was the same time that Helen I don’t remember when I heard it I heard it from my mother but she had heard it from Helen or someone because she had sent a letter to mom or talk to mom just trying to get us when she she had said your not dad was not your dad

RA. right

MA You remember that

RA oh she she told me that there was a period where it was like a daily thing

MA Right like he’s you know he’s not your real dad Richard

KA And she told your mother that

MA And then mom told me she never told you but then it just became we’re Helen was just I mean I can’t remember ever just in casual conversation but I know she said it to Richard and I heard it in so I’m like well mom did say that she heard Helen say that now Helen’s actually saying it to you

MA That’s how that’s how much separation and vindictiveness that she had on us 

RA Because I saw that as sort of that I’m gonna say the beginning but mine and Mike’s togetherness started

KA Started dividing you

RA Separating us right and I think that may have been one way she was trying to do it I mean we still have the same mom we knew that right but I don’t know the motivation behind that I can’t even get

KA So did you have any freedom to be with other or be with friends since you had made friends could you go to their houses

RA I couldn’t at that point

KA Are you allowed to go to anyone’s houses

MA I had a very good friend a couple actually one that I had had from like our first like 1974 I had met when I was his name was Joey McCowan and he would his dad was a truck driver to and he would and head coach so he would drive a truck during the summer and he would coach football at skyline

MA the problem was when we get into summer time The yardwork and stuff will start to pick up again and you’re out there at 8:30 at night and everybody still playing and now you’re older and you know that you’re being separated out and you want to go with your friends Joe‘s house or Joe‘s house and all I remember they were calling asked me Hey Hey Mike you want to go just the fear of having to go to Helen and ask if I could go

KA How would she respond to your asking 

MA First it would be don’t think that’s gonna happen you’ve got this today you’ve got that today and it really wasn’t that I had that to do it it’s just

KA She’s just making

MA When she would have for us to do we said  was fine but I would never like once again I would never do is my kids day out and walk up to her and I know you’re gonna say no but can I go spend the night can Dusty  come over like Macey would but I would have to make it out as a big big deal and she would OK I had to show like true justification almost right out of business case so the profit and loss on the situation it so I can remember white lying and making steps or this is going to be a huge deal you know I’m part of the scouts now we’re gonna go and do this and it would just literally be spending the night with them over there and I can remember being over there thinking what if I gotten myself into it ain’t like we’re going out anywhere so if I’m outside just playing she sees me this is going to be hell to pay that never happened I just got kind of squirrely there but a lot of times there was stuff because his dad just overstay ad for Joey McGowan‘s dad would take us to a lot of places I did have that

KA And so you aren’t allowed to venture out

RA I really didn’t have friends outside of school there I mean there are some people from school that I have kind of fun memories out so remember their name but it’s just because we were kind of dorks together and you know there were some some friendly people for the most part I didn’t do well at range I was it was just I was made fun of you all the time and I mean Helen would stick to it that I was dressed weird or you know

KELLY

Helen reinforced the boys’ isolation constantly, using them as a tool to manipulate her relationship with their father, which wasn’t going well.

Their father eventually relocated them from Margo to an apartment complex called Highland Village, where he was living. But they were never far from Helen.

MA So we would’ve finished at six grade there I would’ve he would’ve finished out fourth 

KA So and then summer came and your still in that home

MA Summer came in sometime during that summer of 76 we made the transition to 228

RA apartments

MA Highland village as you were just saying Kelly all these numbers

KA I know all these numbers are confusing

MA In Highland Village we had 457 went back to Helen we came back to Highland Village and we moved to apartment number 228

KA OK

RA. There were sections section 4section 2

KA OK

MA And

KA So apparently they’re separated

MA They’re separated again

KA Did you see any interactions with them that were arguments or disagreements did you see anything like that

MA Not that I can I just remember dad driving and when he talked about earlier about turning the gate when he’s only coming home for a change of clothes and pack and get back on the road but I do remember the point when all the sudden delivery started happening at the house and new Organ came in a new piano and this was bought at Town East Mall at some very unique music company instrument company that was the year

RA I do remember the piano and the piano is on one side of that little living room formal living and the organ was maybe of against the wall

MA Yeah it was

RA The butt of the kitchen

MA Yes it was

KA Did someone play instruments

MA Helen was gonna learn

RA NO

MA We learned to play When the Saints Go Marching In sooner than she did

RA Is that where I learned that? OK I knew I had always known how but I didn’t know why

MA They just sat there and these were expensive

KA Yeah that’s expensive

MA I think some new furniture arrived

RA It was the kind of organ that you could like put on a rhythm and like Percussion section or Something going

KA oh yeah

MA yeah like you’re at a hockey match do do do do do do and you could just kind of hit some of those keys and kind of play along with it we used to just turn it to different ones so we could hear the rhythm that was going on and figure out how we could make it work some magic into it so those were days when no one was there for whatever reason maybe she had gone somewhere or whatever pick up some kids I don’t know what it was we would have some moments like that to where we would sneak in there use really what we were allowed to touch

KA So you’re noticing some purchasing that is going on that’s unusual

RA I didn’t I didn’t notice

MA I just I just remember not that I had any idea about what all these things cost I just remember the truck showing up with furniture and a truck showing up with music goods to deliver

RA Did she get a new LTD Braugham then as well

MA Yes she got a brand new blue LTD that’s when we started formulating the nickname for Larry Larry tattles daily was the LTD moment I remember she started getting some nice diamond rings so dad went overboard on some jewelry too

RA What did the country Squire wagon come before then

MA That was before matter fact we probably took that country Square wagon probably in 73,74 sometime frame they are all the way to Padre Island remember that we would ride in the back of that bad boy all the back open up the little seats that’s where we could sit back there

RA Yeah those were neat little jump seats

MA I do remember all of those these new items coming along and whether it was before we moved back to 228 or after that at some point there was a story that I need to tell you at some point when dad had absolutely no credit and he had absolutely no money and we were stranded and starving on a trucking trip with him and this is exactly why he lost his cash worth it went that we felt that for the next 3,4 days in the Mississippi area we make that because we had no food to eat and dad was concerned about running out of gas

RA man

MA. I mean the trauma that we went through here people I mean this is but we did we moved back to 228

KA And your dad’s driving so

MA Dad is not at the point where he is just leaving cash for our older brother can to make sure we could eat and that would typically be crossing Callaway to the Kentucky fried chicken that was there and then there’s a couple other fast food joints Whataburger I think was one

RA Whataburger was pretty good ways down

MA But see here’s some of the greatest things of all time when Ken was getting older now and this was probably a little bit later but eventually Ken’s going to get a grand Torino my dad is going to buy him a car or used car and then that just so extended our reach

ASTHMA ATTACKS

KELLY

Despite these extravagant gifts from their father, they still felt his absence.

MA There was no skipping school I remember asthma started to become a bigger problem with me and dad just to whom it may concern he was writing this letter out before he would leave to whom it can make concern you know I have my permission to treat my child because that hospital was literally two apartment complexes down yeah and we were in their mercy room and I remember that popping out really bad and taking that note and they went no I’m sorry could you imagine the call the children’s welfare that might take place

RA I know nowadays yeah

MA When you’re showing up as a seventh grader well I guess seventh graders are kind a old but still what I remember they didn’t take it who else can we call or maybe my stepmother she lives so they called Helen and she came out and vouch that said yeah you need to treat this kid and I don’t remember her ever coming back to the apartment just to make sure I got all settled in

KA. So you were basically in responsible for your medical

MA. Yeah Ken was responsible to just do his best to oversee us and then dad knew these things might pop up and if they do here’s a note

I HAD A PAPER ROUTE

KELLY

When they were away from Helen and their father was on the road, the boys decided to try some... creative things.

MA I will eventually get my own Dallas Times Herald paper route and dad would take us to throw those papers but I remember always just being an entrepreneur I am a thinker and now I can tell you and equivocally I’ve never I’m not a serial killer OK but I can’t tell you that I had a issue with a lot of cats that were in our area and so

RA And there were a lot of cats

MA And of course I had my bike that I would ride back and forth from school so I had some transportation to make sure I’m patrolling the areas of these apartments and there were three or four Siamese and different apartments that were just out right attack you I mean I’d see them out in the road and then they on their fence, get in the back and I’m just like Open that gate and say come on in here buddy and then they would rip you to shreds I got tired of that not that I should’ve been walking into their domain in their back patio but I remember thinking you know I could start a business these cats somebody needs to subsidize the city because obviously their animal control is not getting their rounds done so what I did was is that I would go and find any dog or any cat that I could capture and I would grab them put them in one of Ken’s saddle  bags that he would have or whatever he would put newspapers in now I would just like kind of just time up and hang them over my handlebars bless their hearts because the saddle bag is here hitting the fat tire and it’s rubbing on the MEOW MEOW But I would literally taken him and I would know what apartment number it was and I would literally not anything professionally typed I would just write a letter from animal control whatever I have your cat if you would like your cat back the fee to re-adopt your cat or get it  is $43 and I would say called this number and it’s our home number in the apartment I mean ride it over there knowing that I had that cat tied up on my back patio I don’t know if I had it was like a sock in his mouth or all duck tape but it was definitely he was in custody so I drove to that lady‘s house and I had notebook paper out and I took the notebook paper put the little rubber bands around it and squeeze it between the door knob and left that and I got the car there’s no caller ID back then so I’m just answering hello who is this Mike I would have had a much better shot if I had answered it with  animal control and she said do you have my cat and I said yes I do

I am calling the police if I don’t have my cat back over here ASAP you have stolen and I said no ma’am no ma’am I found your cat running freely along the parking lot 

needless to say she use such language that I thought it would probably be in my best interest to take the cat back

KA How much money did you make

MA I never made a dime on that that deal but you know I thought it might work

MA Yeah and so dad would leave on these three day journey and of course we lived right next to that water tower and it was a long stretch of road but it dead end so only people they were really ever going to go that far into that water tower was either the city of Mesquite water department or it would’ve been someone that’s parking so that they can walk to their apartment right there and at this time dad’s already bought the Torino so this might of been early 77 and Ken is gone and I decided that I would just go for a joyride in the car So I’m cruising these apartments probably looking for some more dogs or cats because I’m really going to be able to just throw them in the back of the truck I remember some guy that lives near us there at 228 he saw me driving he knew I had no business I could  barely see over the steering well and he was like you better\ it had power steering all that you could turn it real easy I remember he told me I saw him yelling at me I made a turn or nearly hop the curb I had the car basically on two wheels \and I think I had my elbow out the window like I was doing something but we knew dad dad would leave us money and every now and then he’s back groceries because he would go on this cake I think it’s cheaper if we could eat out and still save money in the then he would go I think I don’t need to buy groceries and y’all should start doing some things and dad had this thing that he always tell us when I get in I’m gonna I want this place picked up so he left for three days we had had been nine or 10 meals that we would’ve cooked and we hadn’t done anything I mean here we had this for and I don’t think the AC was out but there were a lot of flies I’m just saying and I’m like I don’t remember when dad said it was going to begin and we were talking and we’ve got a few hours let’s just keep watching but we’re watching and all the sudden you know you got those air brakes on trucks that hadn’t gone all the way back to Irving Boulevard in Dallas to put his truck up and come back in his pick up he had just decided just need to take a break I’m just gonna stop and park in that long stretch next to that water tower so here we are watching TV and flies everywhere the house is a wreck and we hear this tschooo so it always Reminds me of when Jesus was given the parable of the master and that is when your masters away you’re taking care of that house you better be prepared for his return and I was just thinking at this moment I heard that Sound and I that we had not been good stewards of what was in front of us this was a wreck and I remember we still gave it our best we hopped up as quick as we could Ken was grabbing dishes Richard was trying to put stuff up and dad walked in and man all hell broke loose and so he said why why have I not told y’all to pick this place up why am I coming home and this place is like it was and I think it was either Ken maybe me you Richard and said said all the light bulbs are out we couldn’t see what we were doing and dad goes I want some lightbulbs and I want them now and so we had no lightbulbs so we’d be in Richard just ran outside to the house the door and here we were literally lick her fingers and grab it and screw

RA And what these were in each door for an apartment had a little light out front and there are usually yellow lightbulbs

MA Yeah yeah they were not your typical what you would put your in chandelier

RA So we’re like

MA Unscrewing these lightbulbs

KA Yellow light bulbs

MA I remember having a T-shirt and just kind of dropping them

RA I don’t remember he told me

MA Carrying them in like this so we went around stealing lightbulbs and not come back in open the door clink clink clink  can you imagine what he’s thinking what in gods name do you have now said you said you needed some lightbulbs he went you mean to tell me you went and stole those lightbulbs and I said once again the high five was not invented yet hey dad am I awesome or what oh he was this was at route chaos that had broken out and this was kind of the way it was and I don’t know if that added to the fuel of dad just maybe this girl has given up but we weren’t we weren’t there were moments when we could’ve done better there was a moment back with that air conditioner was out at 2 to8 that I had gotten one of those cats remember There was a fan it was no longer working and so I cut the cord that plugs so I cut the two wires were out and this is awful I thought it never works thank God we had this cat he was making all kinds of noise and I remember dad walked in and he went Mike are you having an asthma attack and I’m like no I had this wire out like we’re trying to shut this cat man he said get that cat out those are just the things that we we were just you know

Mischievous

RA We were just kids

JOY RIDING

MA We took the Kawasaki 100 with me driving and you on the back and we made it all the way over to that Skaggs Albertsons Skaggs alpha-beta whatever it was called

RA Yeah on

MA Ken’s motorcycle

RA on motley 

MAyeah over on Motley 

RA Motley in town East the corner

MA Yeah right there on that corner this would’ve been 1:30.2 in the morning

RA You know I do have a memory of that now

Why did we wanna go there did we just wanna go

MA When we were joy riding

RA yeah OK

MA And we got there sure enough we are we are on town east coming to Motley and the lights lit up behind us and they we pulled into that parking lot and literally this cop you have a license now what are y’all to do in there here we are just out right now we just figured they tell us to put it up but we were so far from where we were supposed to be it’s kind a hard for us to get it they are to put it up so we’re like we just can’t let you write it back Mr. Mike you just can’t ride that bag you’re not gonna put your little brother on the back of it to go So they were going to put us in the back of the car have somebody come pick up that motor impound it take us home or whatever they were going to do to us that man just at that moment as were sitting there going wow what the heck man we’re about to get another ride in the police car another two guys two guys that were doing one guy was riding it the other guy was sitting in the back on the back of that with arms around the guy as I pulled up beside in the Albertson’s parking lot and what’s going on upstairs while these two boys right here out joy riding and not only of the exceeded their curfew they’ve written a street legal motorcycle 7 miles from their home and we’re going to have to impound a motorcycle not go goes well I’ll tell you what my friend behind maybe he can run ride that motorcycle home he can give one of the boys a lift and up at the other boy a man it will just take them back to where they live in the mesquite police officer who was probably two hours past his time to leave and had no desire to write he said OK OK you can do it so Richard got on one motorcycle I had my arms around the waist up some other guy and they took us back to the apartment and they I’m like this with these guys could’ve been who knows what

KA I know

RA Nice guys though

MA And even this we intercepted the mail that had the citation for what we had done and

RA You don’t think we still owe for that do you

MA I’m sure if we get pulled over in Mesquite I won’t be somebody with a motorcycle taking us somewhere we’re going to jail

KELLY

They got themselves into enough shenanigans that their father moved them back in with Helen. And each time they returned to Margo Street, things seemed to get worse.

RA But sometime we are probably 77 that we did move back in with Helen and that was that was hard because well because of all the reason we talked about that we had now had a pretty long time of freedom I would say and friends and a life and it kind of made a name for ourselves and our you know with our Police Department at our schools and you know well liked doing well in school and then to be dropped back into that

And that year Helen word well she never there was one year with the white Falcons when I was little that I did get to play and that’s really where the name big dick came from because my coaches they thought your name stick them make fun of you you’re a hard worker we’re gonna call you big dick so anyway that’s where that all came from but she wouldn’t let me try out for the purple or anything like that it was just the same old record but I had had a girlfriend in Mesquite South Mesquite for Casey Carrasco for a long time her and Tim McDonald my friend and his girlfriend Lisa Darnell we were like inseparable For I don’t know happy year a longer and so I would still want to call her she wouldn’t let me you know it was just a separation and separation to another place where there was no chance of making similar friends which and maybe that happens to a lot of kids I get that so that’s not that’s life but but then I was still able I guess cause I had gotten a little older like Mike was before where I was able to swing some spend the night with Tim McDonald Abe and  Sandra on occasion so I had that but that was whenever I think dad made the room in the back and they decided it would be why it wasn’t me and Mike going in there is still to my the weirdest thing that instead of me and Richard for our going in that room

RA Still stuff about my dad still stuff that I can’t do anything that I don’t know if the booger stuff continued

MA No that was that was I don’t remember that ever happening

RA That had stopped but it was it was almost bearable but there was still that same sense that never went away from what had happened the unpredictability and knowing that somethings going to happen it’s just win and then that’s when the thing started really for me with OK you need to stay in your room while we eat in the room was out behind there and then she would come say OK you can come eat and then I would sit kind of in the dark in the kitchen dining area and eat beans and then she would say OK now I need you to clean up the rest of the table wash the dishes and it was around that time I think whenever I cut my hand so bad like I was you know just washing a glass or something and the pressure built up in there and it popped and I mean you still see it clearly today and it just bled and bled and I remember actually going to school the next day with like a rag wrapped with like duct tape around my hand which was why would you just send me to school that way but again it was just due now they CPS would’ve been involved no doubt

KA right

RA But anyway it was just different type of terror in but it was it was

MA Things were harder between dad and her though to

KA. And did you see any of that

MA Well it’s just at this time frame now we’re starting to get to where financial issues are starting to be a real problem and kids are getting older wanting 

FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

KELLY

Even one of Helen’s own sons, James, saw how bad the Archibalds’ situation was getting.

James had gotten to where he was literally like pulling me out of the house in a friendly way to say will you come play frisbee with me or will you like he was doing things for me to try to help me out of that situation

KA So he saw what his mother was doing

RA Yes he did and I think he felt bad for me and ask her son he had the power in authority to take my time

KA Wow how did she respond to that

RA She would do whatever he said

KA Wow OK

RA And those were I appreciated that they were respites and I think to this day I think I believe James knew exactly what he was doing so that was good and but I I don’t really remember much else about specifics around that time 

RA And I had a paper route to then

MA. I did too

RA And it was Dallas times herald so it was afternoon so I get home from school get your I guess we what we do we will fold them and then go run it

MA Yeah what they do you had to they would bring you what was called inserts which would be one section so you have to clipped out and put the answers you do the other ones will be the front page you’d have to put all the papers together you’d fall them you could either bag them or you put a rubber band around them and we had bicycles with saddlebags I had mine dad was really good though if he were in town on a Sunday or even if he was in town he would just say throw the back of the pick up

RA Back of the truck

MA We would literally Clairemont Lake over into right across Motley into the other neighborhood and we were throw our papers and I remembered dad got a little too fast and we’re just slanging them off one and out the next because you have to make sure if you were throwing it to her the subscriber was

RA To the address we kind of knew by heart by this time

MA Some people were elderly and they wanted their table porch and so dad would have to stop weed get out real quick and man it would literally take what would be a 30 minute bike ride with these heavy newspapers over the saddlebags it’s hitting up against your bicycle tire you just hear that going dzzzz dzzzz As you were trying to make it that would cut down on things significantly when we could just toss I remember I let one go and it literally landed on the guys roof OK and what they would do it was called a calling complain so you begin home and you to have this recording you have a complaint that was called in at 9017 point East Boulevard please call the person back at this number so I remember calling them back going yeah yeah I didn’t get my newspaper did you check your roof like he’s going to get a ladder and go up on his roof but we had great times

RA Well in that service such a reprieve you from from Helen because we were doing our own jobs we rode our papers and put them on the bike in sure it was hard but man that was a breeze compared it I mean that was like wonderful and then collecting that I would love meeting  people

MA we would give our  little knock on the door 

RA Give them a little tab

MA Yeah collected for the Dallas Time’s Herald and it was like always pay in cash because we didn’t realize it do you have to

RA You have to go to 7-Eleven and get hotdogs

MA You have to pay for your paper

RA Hotlinks

MA After you’ve collected for the end of the month they’re going to send you a bill for all the newspapers that they deliver it and now you have to pay them and you get to keep what’s left over but I’m spending the money as I’m collecting at me a richer would go make arounds and then we Stop by the 7-Eleven we were getting to hotlinks and chips and a soda and we were doing that every time and by the time we got to the end he owed $417 for these papers hey dad what’s this I don’t have any money I spent it I work for it and he goes no Mike so so we learned a little bit too but those were good times

RA I think most of it was pretty much covered by checks I think but anyway

KELLY

Helen was getting tired of this pattern their father had, of reappearing in the boys’ lives just long enough to do something fun with them, and then vanishing again. From what they remember, he wasn’t talking much to Helen at all.

MA Helen was really drugged it was almost liberating we had our papers she was just sleeping all the time it was kind a like that children, suffering because all she really ever did was baby then we had lived life large we had kidnapped cats we had rode motorcycles we had we weren’t street wise but we we could take care of ourselves they were absolutely defenseless and I don’t know why I was kind a like in that because I did have thought to when my mom was up there in that bad and we would get up and he was Helen just sleeping on that new furniture that couch

RA Yes that’s right

MA Just

MA I can remember Helen standing there at night time with a belt and it wasn’t like she had to say anything or if she did it would just be so we can get this done so she would be there be standing and remember her walking in a separating the beds that James would have there and have that belt and it would just be drop your pants made she was just saying do you know what to do and I know you know what to do but I don’t really want to stay in here as I can’t even tell you I don’t I don’t know what the various issues were

RA yeah why

MA Just literally drop your pants and when you get older and you’re dropping your pants and especially out near those garbage cans I made she would literally as we get older we would like I said we would take the trash out boys don’t y’all even get dressed just get up and get the garbage out just take it out whenever maybe some of the other people were taken and we’re out there in our tidy Whiteys and just that memory will never cause you knew you just it just appear in your first sight wasn’t to her it was what she had and that belt was coming

RA And I guess that’s what she did later was just there was no rhyme or reason

MA There’s no rhyme or reason

RA Like

MA And this is while I was thinking a little further what if she because I need it just from her speech that she wasn’t there really I mean she was cognitive enough I’m gonna get the belt I’m just gonna go right maybe she’s just pissed at us I don’t know

RA Pissed at Dad taking it out on us

MA He’s just driving he’s just leaving me here with these kids you know

KA OK OK when the family was eating and you were served later you were served beans later where they eating beans as well

RA. no

KA So what was going on with them

RA What I remember is like those Chef Boyardee make your own pizza things that had come out so I remember like the kids getting that and then Mike has a better memory of that so I’ll let him tell it

MA James would go out there with the hamburger that Helen would give or he would just go get an he would fry himself up literally what should go between two pieces of bread but they were just hamburger patties just cooked up homemade he would have two of those with nothing else there’s no vegetables there was there’s a lot of ketchup and stuff that went on it maybe some cheese he had on top of that but that’s what he would have Larry his favorite which he would get would be waffles so the waffle iron would be busted out and Helen’s like pouring out waffles in there for him to have waffles for supper Richard was the grilled cheese king he love to have the grilled cheese so there so she’s doing all this so there is no wonder that way we were just getting big ole pans of beans to eat because she could make those and just reheat them up whenever but there was it was just a buffet style whatever you wanted would be cooked up but for us it was I don’t even remember what we had for breakfast the only time that we had anything that we could probably put down was at lunch at school and that would be like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich

RA Yeah but and you know that kind of explains why there was all these things I had to wash at the end of the night because apparently she would do all of this and not clean up kind a like some kids we know here but anyway but I do remember if she started giving me grapefruit for breakfast do you remember that kick

MA I do remember I remember grapefruit

RA 

And it wasn’t like we can put sugar on it

MA no it was  terrible

NOT YOUR AVERAGE GET WELL CARDS

KELLY

Finally, Helen reached a tipping point when she found two letters in her mailbox that should never have come to her.

KHA dad was ill and I don’t remember if he had to go to the hospital or if he had pneumonia or what happened but he had to takeoff work and he got these letters from two women in my perception was always two waitresses at the truckstop you know I don’t know but from two women and they were get well cards and they weren’t your average get well cards

It was like we weren’t home as I can recall and somebody called the fire department because there was smoke 

I just remember that when we got to the house it was smoke induced and they had to go in there and put the fire out with water and fire hoses and so is drenched and we had smoked clothes, you know the smell a lot so there was a whole deal of going through that and I just remember that uh 

I remember really vividly that I understood that insurance was not going to pay for that fire because they believe that Helen did it and I remember Helen and dad having conversations about that and they weren’t fights they were literally calm this is not good you’re crazy and I don’t I don’t remember Helen saying I didn’t do it I mean I don’t remember her arguing it was like we had come to grips here that were in trouble and almost to the point that I guess they couldn’t pin anything but I think there was a point where legal counsel was considered because Helen could’ve been in trouble trouble uh mainly for insurance fraud and so I just remember that at one point dad telling her I’m gonna fix this and he did and he redid the whole stairs I just kind of barely remember that but I remember him saying it is this is it you were going to have to go get your job back at the post office because you’re gonna need to you’re gonna need a way to make a living and it wasn’t their usual fights you know getting thrown out kicking in doors and trying to kick in doors it was calm cool and we are done 

I NEED TO DIVORCE

KELLY

The unthinkable had happened - their father had finally realized how dangerous Helen truly was. And immediately after the fire, he came up with a plan.

KHA

He said OK you know this is going to take place and this is going to take place but but I I I have to divorce this woman and it was the first time that I thought OK you have finally after all this um he wasn’t asking us what we thought about it or asking us what he should do he was telling us and I thought you finally get that this woman is crazy

357 MAGNUM

KELLY

But their father made one seemingly small mistake. He decided to also share his intentions with Helen.

MA Dad said I’m leaving and I’m leaving on this trip but when I get back I’m leaving your ass

RA OK

I did not know that

MA She said she just said when I get back around here her inability to do anything anymore so that’s what that the bickering back-and-forth was

RA I just I remember hearing her say well when you get back your kids won’t be here and that’s when I walked around not the formal living side but the family room side to the front door because dad was there like he was and I was just like dad don’t leave and then she’s talking again and I look back at her and I’m kind of turned around facing her now and I’m right in front of dad between her and Helen on that couch and she’s got a 357 magnum pointed right at dad for the moment it’s pointed right at me and she says it again your kids will not be here when you get back and he kind of gives me a slight nudge not a push but

MA To push you away from him

RA So he could get out of the door without the door hitting me and he shuts the door and I’m looking at her and so I came back around not her way this way and I guess you and me kind of met up right there

MA So let me so let me tell you what I saw because I’m on the other side of that not that casual living area

RA Yeah you’re close to where say the guest bathroom was right there

MA You’re now where I am standing for you and dad would be would be blocked find me with the stair cases there so I had been Hearing them just go with each other for half an hour and I know this was kind of escalating and I was just it was getting an easy just the way it was the verbiage that was being said now and as I am looking and I hear her say her say What was a little bit before that or like something like you’re not gonna leave me and I that’s when I saw her get up and pulled that cushion up and bring that dark dark black huge 357 magnum I mean I’m not I’m a good guy now but this was was a big weapon and I had no idea Richard that you were there I was so focused on what she had done and so I’m seeing her from that angle when she pulls it and I see her planning it I think it’s just that I didn’t hear you say anything as you were mentioning how do you hear the door close and I see you come to my left

RA  right

MA heading toward me and we opened the 

RA We literally kind of

You’re right here I’m right here where we are kind of there we are I don’t know who said what to who but it was a given we’re going out the back door and we went

MA yep

RA And I remember her voice what she say voice

MA yeah

RA Or

MA It wasn’t like I’m going to kill your ass it was more like always y’all come come on and it was cause we went out past that back garage we hopped that fence into that alley

RA just Over the trashcans

MA Took off over toward Joe Stover‘s house on bird and then we’re going to make our way down so we would’ve had to come

RA Did we already talk about we’re going to McCowan’s that’s where we ended up right

MA That’s where we ended up I don’t think we didn’t take a little time out to 

RA we just got out of there first 

MA we just got out of there first

KELLY

There was no going back from that moment. The Archibald boys took shelter in a friend’s home while they waited for things to cool down at Margo. But when they returned, their lives would change forever.