From my research, I believe my parents, having nothing better to do at the time, decided to round out their farm baseball team with child number nine. I was the fifth boy along with four sisters who made up the O’Shields roster. However, little did we know that a pinch hitter in the form of another sister would show up in the next two years.

My early childhood years are filled with lots of memories, some of which I would like to share with you.

I had a memory of a lifetime after I failed to heed my Momma’s orders to get away from the window. I witnessed a tornado heading directly toward our house. I was perhaps six or seven years old at the time. It was a huge mass of dark, swirling debris accompanied by a vicious roar that looked as if it were sent by the Devil himself. I saw it pick up the front end of the meter reader’s truck just as two men ran from the electric meter and

You must be logged in to view this content.