Loretta Lynn_ Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn [27]
And I said, “Doolittle Lynn.”
She gave a kind of gasp and said, “Oooh, he’s too old for you; and not only that, he’s got a bad reputation. He’s the wildest thing around here. You can’t go with him.”
I nodded my head. But meanwhile, all the time I was wondering when he’d come round again.
7
Doolittle
Where I’ve been or where I’m goin’ didn’t take a lot of knowin’
But I take a lot of pride in what I am.…
—“I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am” by Merle Haggard
Mommy didn’t want me to have anything to do with Doolittle Lynn, but actually we had a lot in common. The Webbs and the Lynns had been living around Van Lear for a long time, and our ways were a lot the same. Besides, I was next-to-oldest of eight children and Doo was the oldest of ten, and we’d done our share of helping to raise kids. And both of us were familiar with coal mining.
Doo’s father was a coal boss for a long time. If you think Doolittle is tough, you should see his old man. He must be over seventy now, but he’s still got that cocky walk about him, like a bantam rooster. He’s got these wild eyes—untamed, you know? And his hair is still red. His name is Oliver, but we call him “Red.” I’ve always felt real close to Red. He helped me write one of my songs called “New Rainbow.”
Red used to drink now and then, and there was no telling what he’d do. We used to see Red and Angie, that’s Doo mother, fussing sometimes. One time Doolittle had to tie Red up so he could come sparking—that’s our way of saying “courting”—at my house without worrying about what Red was up to.
One night Doo’s brother came running to my house saying that Angie had untied Red, and Red was chasing everybody around the yard. Doo had to rush home and wrestle his Daddy to the ground. Even though Red had only about four teeth, he bit Doo until he was bleeding.
Everybody likes Red but, still, he does do some strange things. Doo says the worst thing his Daddy ever did was on a Thanksgiving. Angie fixed up a beautiful turkey dinner with all the fixings and all ten kids were sitting around the table ready to eat. Red had this rule that none of the kids could eat until he himself was served—and one of the kids broke the rule. This made Red so mad that he picked up the table and dumped the whole dinner out the window. Luckily, most of the dinner slid right onto the tablecloth and didn’t get ruined. The kids sneaked the food under the porch and had their Thanksgiving dinner in peace while Red raced around the house.
There’s only one way to get along with Red—you can’t pick on him. You just let him have a beer or two and don’t nag him. But if he gets rough with you, get rough right back. He respects me and Doolittle, I think, because we’re as mean as he is.
When we first got married, Red came out to live with us in Washington. Me and Red got along great. He taught me how to play pinochle while I was waiting for my third baby. I was too far along to pick vegetables, so me and Red would play pinochle all day. About ten minutes before Doo would be getting home, we’d rush around and straighten up the house. Red would sweep all the dirt under the rug, and I’d fix some supper. Then Doo would see all the pinochle scores written on a brown shopping bag and say, “I see you’ve been playing pinochle again.”
And Red would say, “Just a few games.”
Red never has been one to stay in one place for long. When Doo was just a boy in Kentucky, they heard rumors that coal was selling for twenty dollars a ton in Washington State. Red took off one day and nobody heard from him for a long time. That was rough on Doo’s mommy. I’ve always loved Angie. Even today, she’ll make me a big angel food cake whenever I visit. And she had her hands full in those days.
Meanwhile, Doo had to support his family by hoeing corn for fifty cents a day. Sometimes the grown men would help him finish his row so the boss wouldn’t fire him. Even then, Doolittle wasn’t satisfied with one job; he was always working. His aunt sold milk in the coal camp, so Doo delivered the milk on that