Tales of a Tennessee Tomboy

Hello! My name is Jill R. Hilliard


                                          and I am a tomboy. I really wonder if it was DNA and there was
nothing that could have been done about it. Then I wonder if I wasnt toally surrounded
by mostly men would I be all lace and manners? I was born of the result of an affair that my biologicial mother had. I was the only girl born after 3 boys. I was given to my great aunt and uncle raised on a farm. I followed my (uncle) dad every step he made. I helped feed farm animals .... I watched cows give birth. I even remember trying to be like my dad I got into his snuff and dipped. My (aunt) mom flipped out. I loved my dad and wuld have followed him off a cliff if he would have jumped. Then there was the friends I grew up with. There wastwo families the Arnolds and the Harrisons both families had two boys. The Harrisons also had a girl but she was like 8 years younger than me. So this meant playing cowboys and Indians. We played "Gunsmoke" and I always had to play Miss kitty because I was technically a girl. I always wanted to be a gunslinger. If you have ever seen the movie "Stand by me" that was our gang. There was the Arnold boys. Mark and Paul. Mark was about a year younger than me and Paul was about 3 years younger than me. Now for the Harrison boys their is Darrell who was a year older than me and his little brother Danny who was around Pauls age and we hung out caught fireflies walked for miles and miles on adventures. We would go home at twilight. Around 13 years old I got a crush on Darrell and wreaked the entire foundation of our group. It was the summer before Darrell went into highschool. We had the best summer of holding hands and swing n the porch swing. The the school year begain and he couldnt be known having a girlfriend that was still in elementry school (Before middle schools) and he broke up witho have  me. Dont get me wrong I tried to be normal and have girlfriends. before all the boys my family became friends with a huge family The Andersons. The dad was a preacher and took go forth and multiply seriously. He had 3 girls and 2 boys. and the middle girl was Cindy I went to church with her and I ate dinner with her family. All of Mr. Andersons daughters were blond and at dinner time he would refer to me as his only burnettee daughter. We played dolls and would help feed their baby calves ( they owned a dairy farm) The we started first grade and that is when Cindy meet the mean girls there was Carol the leader and her followers Connie Kristy and on occation Veronica and Renee. I remember the day that Cindy traded our friendship for a seat at the popular table.