Jessie Lou (Louise) Pratchitt is my name.  I live in a tiny community here in southernmost Kentucky called Bug, which is on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.  I am ten years old.

I live with my Mamma, my Daddy, and my four sisters (two older, two younger).  My sisters are named Loretta Lynn (14), Dolly Rebecca (12), Berthenia (Birdie) Kay (9), and Coralee June (3).  I don't have any brothers.  Wish I did ...

I was born with a disability.  Doctors don't rightly know what exactly happened, but something definitely went wrong while i was forming inside Mamma's tummy.  I was born with a deformed face and have had plenty of operations to help me look better.  When I was born, I looked a fright:  I was not a beautiful baby at all: I looked more like a Frankencense monster than a human baby girl.

As you can imagine, Mamma and Daddy were devastated, but they both had a strong faith in God, so they turned to Him.  I guess that is why I look better than I did, yet I still face some more operations (I refer to them as "touch-ups" 'cause the big stuff has already been taken care of).  God allowed me to have my face fixed, and I couldn't be happier!

In addition to my face, I was born with only three fingers on my right hand and a twisted leg.  I was teased a lot in school, but Mamma and Daddy both talked with Ms. Rivers, my teacher; now the kids don't tease me nearly as much, which is fine with me.  I know I can't help how I look or what happened to me when I was being born, but some people (grownups included!) really need to get a life than to make the lives of others miserable!

My Daddy, Rex, is a coal miner.  He's done that since he was only 16 years old and he works real hard to provide for the family.  Mamma, meanwhile, stays home and takes care of us kids.  Sometimes I think Mamma has the hardest job in the world, 'cause she don't get any weekends (or holidays) off.  Her name is Sharon.

I am in the fourth grade.  I am in the Special-Needs class 'cause my writing and reading skills aren't that good.  I'm doing better than I was, though, but at times, reading and writing can still be tricky for me.  School is okay, but I wish I had more friends.

When I'm not at school (or watching over Coralee and Birdie), I like to sing, write stories (my teacher says writing will help me to do bettr in school), go to church (we go to a Church of God type church; our church is called Blessed Saviour Church of God), play with my toys, watch cartoons on TV, play with my friends Jackie Doe and Mary Lou Washam after school or on weekends, and listen to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio with my family before we go to bed.

My dream is to be a country singer like my favorite, Loretta Lynn.  I just LOVE her!!  Loretta Lynn is a Kentucky gal, like me, and she is a Coal Miner's Daughter, too!  :)  She comes from Butcher Holler, which is northeast of Bug by a good 75-100 miles or so.  It's almost on the West Virginia border; it's a powerful fur piece from here.

I just hope that people can see that just because I was borned with a messed-up face, it doesn't mean that my mind is messed-up, too, 'cause I ain't!  I'm just like you, even if you don't realize that just yet!  And also remember this:  I look a lot better than I did!!

~Jessie Lou.

~To be continued.~