In early 1954, Ada's family lost the farm, because of a dispute with the landowner. The family had been sharecropping the same piece of rich bottomland for over a decade. For the last two of those years, the family had been producing barely enough to maintain a subsistence income level. However, the landowner wanted a larger share of the farm's output, an output that had been steadily dwindling for a number of years. The reduction in output could be attributed to a couple of factors. One important factor was the decrease in the land's productivity that could not be improved with crop rotation. Two, there were fewer field hands available to the family; Ada's elder sons had already left the family farm for the city and the greater economic opportunities it offered young men. With a declining productivity, the family could not survive the winter with a smaller share of the available output without incurring an even larger than normal debt to the owner, a debt that would have to be paid out of the following year's output. It was a no win situation for the family.

Like numerous rural Mississippi families before and after them, Ada's family looked to the immediate north to urban Tennessee as the place to resettle. With little formal education and only farm work as experience, there were few options for earning a livelihood beyond the manual labor available in an industrial setting. Memphis, Tennessee became the most likely place to find such work. Situated on the banks of the Mississippi River, Memphis was only fifty miles away and there were plenty of jobs requiring manual labor, as the city was growing by leaps and bounds.

Fred left Mississippi in early March of that year in search of work. Leaving behind his poor destitute family, Fred quickly located work in the construction industry and found temporary housing for himself. The more difficult task was the location of affordable housing for his rather large family. That problem was not immediately solved, but the family no longer had to worry about being forced to leave the house they rented on the farm they once sharecropped. Fred's job made making the monthly rent payment possible, as well as keeping the family fed.

Fred lived with an elderly lady who ran a small candy store in the corner of her front lawn. The candy store was really just a small one-room shack that housed all sorts of goodies that appealed to young people; the inventory ranged from two-for-a-penny cookies to five cents soft drinks. The store did a dooming business during summer afternoons and evenings as the neighborhood children beat a path to its door for cold drinks and ice cream to stay cool in the sweltering summer heat. As a part of their rental agreement, Fred helped out in the little store evenings and weekends. This arrangement worked well for both Fred and Daisy, his landlady.

While his living and working conditions had worked out well and over a fairly short period of time, Fred desperately missed his family. Seeing the faces of the little ones who flocked to the store daily to purchase candy or other sundry items made Fred miss his own little ones more. Homesick and lonesome, Fred discussed with Daisy the possibility of inviting one of his children for a short visit. Daisy agreed and actually looked forward to meeting members of Fred's family. Fred decided to have Ada bring Dot to Memphis to spend a few weeks during the summer. He immediately wrote her a letter extending Daisy's invitation and included in the letter a money order for the train fare.

Ada received the letter and money order from Fred encouraging her to bring one of their babies for a visit in early May. By the time all the arrangements were made, it was the middle of June. Dot and Ada boarded the train to Memphis from Senatobia on June 26th of that year. The train ride was short and fairly uneventful. Dot spent most of the one and one-half hour journey looking out the window at the passing scenery. She appeared to be in awe of the speed at which they traveled and all the many things to see along the way. Surprisingly, she talked very little during the journey.

At the train depot in Memphis, they got a taxi to the house where Fred lived. Dot was thrilled to see her father who had been gone for three months. She hugged his thick neck and clung to his broad shoulders refusing to let go even when her mother assured her that she would be staying with her father for a few weeks. Ada returned to Senatobia that afternoon, because she needed to get back to the other children. While Dot relished the idea of spending some time with her father, she had no idea that meant being away from her mother and the rest of her family.

Dot's first afternoon with her father was spent becoming familiar with the house, the candy store and the surrounding lawn. The area was fairly large particularly for a small child; Dot was only three. In addition to the two big buildings, the candy store and the house, there was a chicken coop that housed several hens and a ornery old rooster. On one side of the house, there was a large shade tree with a glider beneath that served as Fred's favorite place to spend his afternoons and evenings. From this position, Fred could observe the candy store without having to spend all his time in the hot little building. He could also see most of the lawn and keep an eagle eye on his inquisitive little daughter. Since the surroundings were new and strange, that first afternoon she hung close to her father never straying very far from his side on the glider.

The following afternoon Dot ventured farther afield examining the area around the house, peeping into the crawl space beneath the house, checking out the contents of the candy store and trying to play with the barnyard fowls that were a prominent part of the her new surroundings. The hens and the chicks were good for a few minutes of diversion; she chased them and they ran away. It was fun and familiar since she had lived on a farm her entire brief life and had seen and chased chickens before. While the hens and the chicks cooperated nicely in the chase game Dot had devised, the rooster refused to participate as Dot expected. That old cock had definite ideas of his own about who would be chased and who the chaser would be. He apparently believed that he should be the one doing the chasing.

Dot spent her days while Fred was at work listening to and following behind Daisy as she completed her daily chores. They listened to the radio as Daisy pieced together a quilt. Some days they would visit other ladies in the neighborhood or entertain them at Daisy's home. There was always a quilt or some kind of sewing being done during these visitations. For Dot the days were not nearly as exciting as the afternoons and evenings when her father came home, because then she could go outside to play.

Playing alone was a new experience for Dot having spent her entire life in a large family with both elder and younger siblings. In spite of this, she was content initially to explore her new environment and chase the chickens. It was during this first week at her father's that the game of chase became a nightmare. She had just run the hens and baby chicks into the chicken coop when there was a loud squawk and the sound of angry flapping wings from beneath the house. Dot turned to see that old cock charging at her with murder in his red eyes. For a brief moment, the little girl stared at the rooster and then she screamed, turned and ran to the glider where her father sat visiting with one of his old cronies who had stopped by to sit a spell. The old cock gave chase.

Screaming and running blindly, Dot hurled herself into her father's waiting arms, the most secure haven in the world. With his daughter pressed firmly against his chest, Fred used his foot and a shooing noise to momentarily slow the old cock. The rooster backed away with feathers ruffled and wings flapping squawking to beat the band. Fred rose from the glider with Dot clinging to his body, picked up a stick and shooed the cock away.

"There, now sweetie," he crooned to the frightened little girl. "That old bad rooster is gone. There is nothing for you to be scared of now. Okay?" So saying, he tried to pry is daughter arms from around his neck. She clung tenaciously despite his efforts to get a look at her face. Fred retraced his steps back to the glider where he exchanged an amused glance with Uncle Snoot, his elderly uncle and friend who had stopped by for a brief visit.

"You know Snoot," Fred casually remarked to his uncle, "that old rooster is nothing but a big show off. His squawk is a whole lot worse than his peck." Fred peered at his daughter to gauge her response. The little girl looked up at him and said, "Him a baddie, daddy."

"Oh no sweetie," Fred reassured. "He just wants you to think he is."

"Him bad, daddy," Dot said. Convinced her father did not understand that the rooster was definitely a force to be reckoned with. That old cock did not want to play; he wanted to fight and win. As far as Dot was concerned he had already won; she was not about to present him with a challenge.

Despite her father's efforts to get her to face up to that old cock, Dot refused to venture far from the glider the remainder of that afternoon and early evening. The next day was more of the same; the little girl was still far too afraid of the rooster to go near the back yard to play. Her father produced a stick for her to use as a weapon in the event the rooster chased her. She studied the stick and held it tightly, but she did not move from her father's side that afternoon.

On the third day after the rooster's attack, the little girl played around the front of the house and along its side where the glider was with a ball Fred had purchased for her that day. She threw the ball to her father and he threw it back to her. On one throw, the ball rolled under the house and Dot immediately crawled beneath it to retrieve the ball. The ball did not go very far beneath the house, so it was easy to reach. In the fun and excitement of the new toy, she had completely forgotten about that old cock and his habit of resting beneath the house.

The noise apparently awakened the ornery old rooster who squawked and immediately gave chase. Dot hurriedly scooted from beneath the house emerging mere seconds before the angry rooster. Forgetting her new pink ball entirely, Dot's short legs pumped vigorously as she sought the protection of her father's arms. Dot was convinced that she had barely escaped certain death when the rooster ran smack into the leg of the glider. Momentarily stunning himself as he collided with the metal, the old cock was knocked backwards by the blow, but quickly regained his footing and resumed his squawking and wings flapping routine.

Dot continued to bury her face in the space between her father's neck and shoulder too afraid to look at the noisy beast that had almost eaten her alive. Fred rubbed the trembling child's back trying to calm her as best he could. That damn rooster was making his daughter's brief stay an unpleasant one, he thought. Something had to be done and quickly, he decided. Beside him on the glider was the stick he had given Dot a few days before as protection against the rooster; he picked it up and threw it at the fowl narrowly missing the squawking cock. Apparently, the rooster got the message because he flapped his wings and flew out of reach of the stick and turned to flee back beneath the house.

Lips trembling and eyes watery with unshed tears, Dot said, "I want my ball daddy." It was obvious from the child's tone of voice that she expected her father to retrieve the toy. However, Fred did not bulge from the glider. In a quivering voice Dot said, "Please daddy please." she pitifully implored her father.

"Dot, sweetheart," her father reasoned. "That ball belongs to you. You are responsible for it. There is no reason why you can't get it. I want you to get your ball."

With a look that clearly said she had somehow been betrayed by her hero and idol, Dot said, "No daddy, you go." So saying she slid from her father's lap and began tugging at his arm in an attempt to get him to go after the ball.

"Sweetheart," Fred, determined to remain firm on this issue ignored the pleading look on his daughter's face. "You have to face that rooster sometime, otherwise you won't be able to go anywhere in this yard. You'll have to stay in the hot house all the time. You don't want that do you?"

"No daddy." Dot said. "You go now." The determined little girl tugged even harder on her father's arm.

Standing firm, Fred said, "No Dot. You have to get your own ball. I am too big to get under the house. Either you go or the ball will have to stay under the house for the rooster to play with it."

The problem had not disappeared the following afternoon; the pink ball still resided beneath the house jealously guarded by that ornery old cock. The rooster seemed to understand the importance of that ball and did not stray far from it throughout the day. By the time Fred took up his usual position on the glider with Dot that afternoon, the cock was firmly ensconced near the ball. Fred had decided that retrieving the ball required a plan that included a diversion for the cock and convincing Dot that it was safe for her to go and get the ball. Fred enlisted Snoot's aid along with a bag of chicken feed, and a big stick.

Fred gave Snoot the bag of chicken feed to toss in the back yard and call the chicken's to eat. The plan was to get the rooster from beneath the house and away from the ball. The stick was given to Dot to use as a weapon in the unlikely event that the rooster refused to bulge or showed up before Dot could get the ball. Fred convinced the little girl that the feed would draw the rooster from beneath the house so she would not need the stick; it was just a precaution. Besides, Fred would be right there for her, if that old bird showed up.

The plan's success required the synchronized action of all parties. Snoot stood in the back yard near the chicken coop awaiting Fred's signal to beginning spreading the feed and calling the chickens to eat. Fred laid on the ground and peeped beneath the house the verify that the rooster still sat on guard near the pink ball. Dot stood shakily at her father's side holding the stick, but still too afraid to look beneath the house. Fred urged the child to stoop for a better look at the ball saying, "Sweetie, you can't see the ball unless you look."

Dressed in a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, the little girl bent to look for her ball. Seeing the rooster sitting nearby, she gasped and started to rise. Fred anticipating her withdrawal caught her arm. "Shh, honey," he cautioned. "Now watch," he advised conspiratorially. Fred signalled Snoot to begin spreading the chicken feed.

As expected, the hens and chicks scurried to partake of the grains being spread by Snoot. The rooster turned its head and observed the other chickens for a few moments before rushing from his ball surveillance to claim his share of the feast. As soon as the cock reached Snoot, Fred nudged Dot into action. "Now, sweetie, go!" Rather than rushing forward, the little girl's eyes grew wide and she hesitated a few moments before cautiously crawling for the ball. She was on her way back to her father pushing the ball with one hand and dragging the stick with the other when the cock stopped eating as though sensing something was amiss. Snoot observing the rooster's action shouted, "You'll better have that ball 'cause it looks this ornery old cuss is ready to go back under the house."

"Hurry, sweetie," Fred encouraged the little girl. In her haste, the little girl dropped the stick and clutched her ball. Using one hand she crawled rapidly to the outstretched arms of her father. Luckily, she made it to her safe haven mere moments before the squawking rooster made it back to his perch under the house. Realizing the ball was no longer where he had left it, the rooster raced blindly toward the likely culprit. Safe in Fred's arms clutching her beloved toy, Dot watched as Fred used his foot to shoo away the angry rooster. As the rooster scurried away beneath the house Dot laughed.

It was the first time the child had laughed in three days. It was sheer music to Fred's ears to hear his little girl's carefree laughter once again. Fred knew the problem with the cock was far from resolved; the old bird was literally ruler of the yard not only did he lord it over the hens, but over his daughter as well. The thought did not sit well with Fred. For Dot, however, the problem was forgotten as she played happily near the glider for the remainder of the afternoon.

Once Dot had reclaimed her ball and restricted her play area to a small space near her father and the glider he occupied beneath the elm tree, the cock started strutting around the house frequently venturing near Dot's play area. Often over the course of the following week, Fred had to literally use his confiscated stick to back the obsessed cock away from the little girl. At one point, he actually hit the ornery bird. After this incident, the cock stayed pretty much under the house and in the back yard near the chicken coop.

A state of truce seemed to have been achieved as everyone stayed within what appeared to be their individual spheres of influence. That is, Dot stayed in her little area and the cock did not try to invade it. As children are apt to do, Dot soon forgot the reason for restricting her play area. She was busy throwing and kicking her ball one afternoon when an especially hard kick sent the ball into the back yard near the chicken coop. Dot ran after it completely oblivious of the problem with straying into enemy territory.

Ever vigilant and ornery, the cock had been watching the child play from beneath the house. As soon as the ball left her foot, the cock began moving from his position midway under the house to the back of the house. When the ball settled near the chicken coop the rooster already lay in wait for the unsuspecting child.

Dot rushing to the ball did not see the rooster. As she stooped to pick up the ball with her little rear pointed toward the back of the house, the rooster charged. Alerted by the cock's squawking and flapping wings, the child screamed; forgetting her precious toy, Dot took flight running as fast as her short legs would carry her to the safety of her father's arms. Unfortunately, the safe haven she expected to find on the glider was not there.

Only moments before the ball went sailing into the back yard, Fred had gone to the candy store as a group of the store's usual customers, the neighborhood's children, had dropped in. Normally Dot trailing behind Fred would have gone with him to the store. On this particular afternoon, however, the little girl had been far too engrossed in playing with her ball to notice the children's arrival at the store and Fred's departure to service them.

When she realized her father was not sitting in the glider Dot continued her headlong flight veering toward the store screaming as loud as she could. Panting for breath, Dot barged into the group of children crowding around the front of the store. Pushing the much larger children aside, Dot mounted the steps and flung herself into the arms of her father. The children ranging in age from about three or four to twelve or thirteen started laughing, as soon as they realized, the rooster was chasing the little girl. Their laughter apparently startled the squawking cock, because he came to an abrupt halt at the foot of the young boy on the outer fringes of the group of children. The bird warily surveyed the group, turned and strutted back to his territory and his possessions, which now included a bright pink ball.

The ball all but forgotten temporarily, Dot sobbed out the story of the bad birdie to her father. Expecting to find sympathy and understanding her father, she was shocked when Fred promptly put her down and said there was nothing to be afraid of; he pointed out the fact that none of the other children were bothered by the rooster. For the first time, Dot noticed her audience and the fact that they were all laughing at her. Embarrassed by the attention, Dot reddened and grabbed for her father's leg. Hiding her face behind the only barrier to embarrassment available, Dot noted that the rooster was no longer in the vicinity. She still clung to her father's trousers as he served the children.

As soon as the last child had been waited on, Fred picked up the little girl and hugged her. He carried her back to the glider and sat down with Dot firmly ensconced on his lap. Fred noticed that the ball was in the back yard near the chicken coop and suspected that the rooster was watching to see if Dot tried to retrieve it. Emboldened by Dot's obvious fear of him, the rooster was determined to continue chasing the child regardless of what Fred or anyone else did. The solution to Dot's problem with the cock rested squarely in Dot's hands, short of Fred taking steps to permanently remove the feisty old bird. That solution could pose a problem, since the bird did not belong to him. The rooster belonged to Daisy and was a valuable asset in efforts to keep the household supplied with eggs. Fred contemplated the dilemma, while Dot fell asleep on his lap.