 Our plan was simple. Mom, Howard, and Mary Ann, two years old by this time, Jerry, Denzel, Belle, and I would go to Oregon and pick strawberries and do what other jobs we could get. We would save our earnings and come back to Joplin in time for Howard and me to go back to school. Dad would stay behind and keep his job at the Empire District and serve as a safety net for us. In case we broke down or got stranded, he could bail us out.