Don't Let the Sun Step Over You: Chapter 1

There were a lot of interesting stories in the first chapter of this book. It was helpful how the narrtor went over the different members of her family and explained each ones name and where they were from or who they married.
The constant occurance of death by Tuberculosis was sad to read about. Many parents lost a lot of their children to this illness. At one point the narrator says that she and one more of her siblings are the only ones left alive out of at least 9 children. She seemed really sad that her only sister had died because she was the only girl left. A lot of the children also seemed to die when they were off at the boarding schools. I read in another book how the children would die of homesickness and how they would become so depressed because they were away from their families and what they called home.
Story telling was also a huge part of this chapter. One of my favorite stories was at the end of the chapter when the narrator is explaining what "don't let the sun step over you" meant. If the children were to stay in bed too long then the sun would step over them and they would be in trouble. The narrator recalls when she was younger how her parents were strict with her because there was much to be done as far as house work. She was out collecting wood at the young age of 5 or 6. In American society our 5 and 6 year olds are struggling to tie their shoes and put their toys away (not that this is a bad thing). This shows the different level of resposibility that children of different cultres have. When I was 5 I was entering the first grade and still running around without a care in the world. I didn't have chores until I was about 9 years old. The only thing I had to do was do my homework and keep my room clean, other than that I had a lot of free time to get into trouble. =)
I also found the story of William Goshoney. He got struck by lightening and from there on he was able to sing and bring rain. According to the story those that got struck by lightening they were not able to touch the crops beacuse they would dry up, and one of the things that lightening did not strike was the Sycamore tree. Other than that lightening went after a lot of other differnt things that the families had to get rid of to keep the lightening away. The story also says that women that are struck by lightening are not able to have children. =(
Ultimately, this is an interesting book so far because it reads like a converstaion as oppose to a biography or a book of testimonies. It is enjoyable.