Frankie Who?

By Margaret J Perry

The story about a girl from Pine Mountain Georgia who lost her right hand when she was four years old and with that handicap tells of her full and successful life and at age eighty-three and is still going strong.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Mar 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781667892467

Book preview

Chapter 1

We Are Family

Frankie and her husband, Johnny Copeland have been living across the street from me for twenty-three years. Frankie has had such an interesting and meaningful life. I asked her if she would let me write her stories in a book, because I believe her stories can show us the things we are capable of if we try, and she said, Yes! I said, Okay, I’ll video tape your stories and write them down word for word, with some mutual editing. Where I insert added information or my observation, I’ll italicize. Agreed?

And she said, Agreed!

Now I will share the stories of a most remarkable woman that has been my neighbor and one of my best friends for over twenty years, Frankie Mae Brooks-Copeland. Because this is a joint venture between us, let me tell you how and why we are doing this. Frankie has been sharing her stories with me for as long as we have known each other. We were both born in Georgia. We both moved to Cincinnati. I was six years old when we moved here in 1949. And Frankie moved here when she was in her late twenties.

I heard a charming difference in the way we talked. Which is a great joy in life, seeing the beauty of another person and rejoicing in the differences. Frankie’s life can teach us so many things. The three most important things are. We are going to have our share of troubles in life, we need each other to help us practice Faith, Hope and Charity, which helps us know we truly are God’s Children!

Chapter 2

One Sunday 1933

My mom and daddy, Nettie Mae Dallas and James Richard Brooks grew up in the same neighborhood on farms, went to the same schools, and church. So, I’m pretty sure they knew each other growing up. Nettie Mae my mom was 19 and James my dad was 20. They grew up in the same community. They all went to church together. I don’t know how long they had been going together when they decided, one Sunday, they was going to get married. It was when they was having a big homecoming and there’d be a lot of people at church. Richard’s mother was Hester Brooks.

They decide they’re going to run away and get married.

It was what you called Home Coming Day at Church, it would start about 3:30 in the afternoon and last until late at night, so they planned running away that night and getting married.

I don’t know who told Gramma Hester about it, but Gramma heard about it.

Someone came to her and asked, Did you know Nettie and Richard are fixing to get married?

No! What? She answered.

And she went to ask them, and they said, Yea..

And she said, You might as well take your buts into Church and get married if that’s what y’all think y’all want to do!

So, they went in, and the service started, and Gramma Hester told Pastor that they wanted to get married. So, when he started the service, he called them up to the pulpit and married them, right then and there. With everyone there in the church they did it right then.

They stayed with Gramma Hester about six months ‘till they rented a house, and they moved out.

And the next year my oldest brother Eddie B. was born in 1934, then GW was born in 1936. I came in 1938. When I was born, my brother was two years older than me.

He, (GW) wasn’t even walking.

They thought he would never walk, ’cause he Wouldn’t Walk.

And Mama says she was out washing one day. And she looked up and he was standing on the porch.

In a pitiful voice he called out, Mama Mae!,

That’s what everybody call her…

Aint, you going to get me some food today? I’m hongry!

Momma said she started screaming, "My baby’s walking!

Reviews for Frankie Who?

[Charles Gilbert Wright · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a wonderful book! Real Inspiration for all ages.