"Life ain't fair boy, life never was never will be. It's a fact of life boy and you might as well get used to it. You can't change what God made for you boy. If this is how the mighty lord wants it, then hell that's what the mighty lord gets. You can't defy god boy, I learned that many a year ago. Life has a purpose and what god chooses...is what he gets. You hear me boy, you ain't ever going to get to live the life you want. Do you understand boy? "

I nodded my head. I didn't care. Phooey, with god and the bible. I ain't a Christian, I thought to myself. I hated all this hiding. I hated all this running away. There wasn't a god. Why did we have to be on the lookout all the time? It's not as though some guy was going to kill us because we didn't believe in God.

God to me was like some mythological creature that was created by some whacko thousands of years ago; who needed something that would give him hope so that he wouldn't have to believe that we evolved from apes. What's wrong with apes anyway? Monkeys are my favorite animal. Plus if there was a god then why didn't he ever pop in at some random place to say hello?

People are strange things, I thought. They have to believe in something otherwise they wouldn't know what the hell to do with themselves. Well that's what I think. I guess they just want to carry on the tradition of some supreme being, either that or they really do believe in a god. Well it doesn't matter, one of these days they will figure out that god doesn't exist. Well I hope.

"Jesse get outside and collect them eggs before the damn wolves get to 'em."

"Yes Uncle Jack. I'll get right to it."

I hurried out the door of our small farmhouse. The chicken coop was far from the house. It was about a twenty minute walk each way. Uncle Jack always made me go out in the dark, not James. Oh no...James was far too special for the duties of a farmer. James was spoiled and always got his way no matter what. If he wanted a hundred dollar computer then he got it. He didn't have to earn the money like me.

That was another thing; there weren't any girls in our family. My Uncle Jack said he didn't want the girl that was born to us. Although my mother loved it Uncle Jack (much like James) always got his way as well. So the poor sister of mine was put up for adoption. We never saw her again. I could hardly remember her. The only thing that was clear was that she looked like a little angel when I first saw her. That angel was now gone. My mother said she wanted to name her Sophie. Sophie Browning Madison. Browning was my mother's maiden name. I was named Jesse Harold Madison. Harold was my father's first name. My father died from the KKK when I was seven.

My father was a well known actor within the area. He had starred in many local plays. Harold had been on Broadway once. He had been in Sound of Music as the father of all the children. My father was quite good. Often my father was away traveling for plays. Soon he went on a talk show and that's when we had to start hiding. One of the questions was "Are you really an atheist?" My father answered yes. He was an atheist. After the interview he was greeted by an angry mob. They all thought he was Christian. Now they were angry they wanted my father to become a Christian. Harold declined.

Eventually they looked up our address in New York and we had to move and change our last names and careers. We moved to Helen, Georgia. My father became a journalist and my mother became a doctor. We moved when I was 4. At the time I had very little idea of what was going on. When I was 7 my father and I were launching rockets over at Williams Field. The rocket shot up into the air. It landed across the street. My father ran out to get it. As he was heading back I heard a boom and suddenly my father fell down dead, then some people wearing all white started beating on him. After the beating they chanted KKK, KKK, KKK. They then left him there, like road kill.

I ran over to him and attempted to wake him up. I knew he was dead though. I ran back home holding the rocket underneath my arm. Around this time I met Billie. Billie was my best friend. We were always playing something. One time at the fair we "got married." I loved Billie.

I tripped over a root along the path and realized I was at the farmhouse. Oh well I thought time to collect the eggs.