There was a time in the early 1950s that young Billy and Betty along with their very young daughter Janice, came to live with young Uncle Rufus and young Aunt Mary in Jacksonville, Florida. If you haven't noticed at this early time in this very, young story, everybody was young back then or very young as a matter of fact. That's the way things were back in the early days of the 1950s.

Uncle Rufus and Aunt Mary had a young son named Sonny who was in the first, second or third grade at that very young time, at Atlantic Beach Elementary School. Thanksgiving time was coming fast that year of '51, '52 or '53[1] and one day after school that whichever year, the old yeller school bus which was also young back then, driven by none other than young Aunt Vonnie herself and in person, stopped on Gervin Road (actually spelled "Girvin", Jane has told me) in front of Sonny's house. Down he stepped and ran toward the house.

Aunt Mary, Betty and Janice walked out onto the front porch of the young white house, and down the steps and across the green grass lawn to greet Sonny. They saw him grasping a piece of paper in his hand. When they met with greetings and hugs all round Sonny proudly said, "Look, Mother, Teacher told me to give this to you!"

I should know by now, but I am stubborn and don't want to let any of you go...I want you all to stay... ...just like when I wanted Billy to hang on `til I could either see him again...but also that he would be able to read the Thanksgiving story that I began writing (mainly for him—because I knew he was in ill health)—even though I wasn't even sure he would be able to read it. I had started it in 2004, but unfortunately, I never got it to Betty in time for her to even start reading it to him.[2]

The story was born out of a phrase that was printed on a flyer that my brother Wilburn had brought home from school when he was in the 1st or 2nd grade (or thereabouts) at Atlantic Beach Elementary School in Jacksonville, FL. Billy and Betty were staying with us at the time. The flyer was advertising a turkey shoot to be held somewhere (maybe at the school?) and at the bottom of the page, it said:

SHOOT YOURSELF or LET (or HAVE) SOMEONE DO IT FOR YOU.

Of course, what it meant was: "If you don't want to shoot for the prize, someone else can shoot for you", or something to that effect. But the way they actually worded it sounded like they meant that you had to shoot yourself or have someone else shoot you.

In other words:

The purpose of THIS particular turkey shoot was for the contestants themselves to get shot one way or the other, and that was the only way that they could win a turkey!

Like I said, Billy and Betty were staying with us at that time and Billy, and I guess my Daddy and even Betty and my Mother too, got a kick out of what the flyer said. So over the years after that, whenever we saw Billy, he would say: "Well...Aunt Mary (or Uncle Rufus)...You know...I STILL haven't decided...whether to shoot myself... or... let somebody do it for me!" And we would all laugh!

Did y'all visit us when Billy and Betty were staying with us in Jax?[3]

I seem to remember y'all and Betty and Billy together at the same location at various times. Of course, I was a little kid then, and my memory of those early years are not always accurate, as you are going to be finding out.

That's because I am going to start mailing you a story called BILLY and the TURKEY SHOOT: A Thanksgiving Story.

I can't promise you I'll get it all to you by Thanksgiving, 2005, but I'll begin sending it by letter a little at a time. It is still not finished yet, and I was hoping to have it finished by LAST Thanksgiving! It has taken on a life of its own and I have very little control over it! I will be sending you the first few pages in this letter.

Remembering you,
With the fondest of memories...

Danny Tillman