#2 Kentucky Bred

Lucky Little

#2 - Kentucky Bred

1965 Ashland, Kentucky. Virginia was the preacher’s daughter and the baby sister to the high school football star. Steve was the town cool boy who used his dad’s good name as a ticket to rebel. The law didn't say much to Steve seeing that his dad hired each and every officer in the police department at one point or another as a security guard on one of his construction projects, and Bob Scott paid a good bit more than the city did. Being a police officer about half of your pay comes from jobs outside the police department, they had to keep that door open and Steve knew it and used it to his advantage. ‘Ginny’ wanted to be free, unburdened by being ‘the Pastor’s kid’ and sister to the star. Steve, actually Robert Steven, but never to be Bob Jr., wanted much bigger things than small town Kentucky could offer. There was a war going on and Steve sure the hell didn't plan on following his dad's footsteps into the service to fight a war that had no end in sight.

Ginny’s dad, Ken Holbrook, was a Methodist Preacher and had spent his life since the age of 17 preaching the Gospel. Betty had been by his side since she was 15 and they gave all their energy and time to their church. Ken and Betty would spend 2-4 years building up a church and a community then the head office would send them on to the next town. The local newspaper would have Pastor Ken's picture splashed all of the front page before he left out of Ashland though. The white and black communities were brought together like had never been seen in Kentucky when the black church lost their Pastor and had no hope of a replacement, until Pastor Ken Holbrook stepped up and stepped in.

Steve’s dad, Bob Scott, was a WW 2 veteran that came back and built a successful construction business in Ohio. He had jobs spanning from Ohio into Kentucky in commercial construction. The money was great and Patty Scott knew how to spend it, while at the same time make you think she was poor and deserved so much more. Patty was a wannabe socialite, never satisfied, and never without a drink in her hand. Bob worked hard and worked smart and didn't have to prove anything to anybody. The fruits of his labors said it all and yet he was a humble man beneath the shrewd business front.

Steve loved to build engines, race cars, drink beer, pull pranks and fight. He had a high IQ and aced anything put in front of him at school but still wasn’t like his older sister Shary, the academic. He had seen what the best jobs around had to offer and had no interest in continuing school even one day after graduation. Ginny spent most of her time at the church and on occasion went to a football game. She was put off by the average boy but extremely intrigued by a young man named Steve Scott. She didn't have the walk, talk or look of the privileged girls but knew she had something even better, uniqueness.

They started flirting and soon the Lion had the gazelle in his teeth, they were in love. At only 17 and 18 years old their lives were about to change forever, Ginny was pregnant. With her slim body type it wouldn’t take long for her to start showing. What would people say? What would their parents say? What would the church people say?

The pressure was building for Steve to determine his destiny, work for Bob, go to college or head to Vietnam. His sister Shary was in Texas going to college all ready. They’d go down to Houston and figure it out from there. Gotta be more doctors in Houston then there is in Ashland. Neither one of them wanted a baby. They knew their options. A sharp uneasiness set in as Ginny realized she would be leaving all those who had ever loved her. Lying to them. Refusing them the choice of their first grandson or daughter. Her desire to run far far from home and live life on her own terms was much stronger than her regrets. Anticipation set in as Steve realized he would be leaving the constant fighting and abuse. The low blow mentions of his sister's mental capabilities and her newfound social club friends. Now he'd know life, at it's fullest. He didn't need the self righteous noises that surrounded him at home and school. He'd rise above the noise.

They held a small service with just the families and some friends from their church. Only Steve, Ginny, Shary and Steve’s best friend Carl knew Ginny was with child. Ginny held on to her dream and Steve’s promise that they’d end their journey in California. With the Watts riots in Los Angeles being reported on television daily they figured they would head to Texas first. Bob gave them a car. Steve would be trading it for a hot rod before they crossed the Kentucky state line. Then it was pedal to the medal, southbound to Texas. Leaving a population of twenty thousand people, to the big city, Houston, Texas, with about one million people. It would be the beginning of the end.