The Tallahatchee Bridge Incident Thursday, June 2, 1955.

Heat Mirages rose and waves over the field in front of us blurring my view of anything

above the horizon. The cotton plants had broken the surface in late May and the stalks were

now up to my ankles. They cast a green blanket over the fresh dirt as far as we could see.

All in perfect, straight rows that made me think of lines on notebook paper etched in

the earth's surface. It was beautiful. The heat felt like added weight to my body.

We heard across the cotton field to get to the sawmill. It would be hot there too, but

the roof over the mill would give us some shade.

Billy Joe McCallister and I had been hired by Ben Stewart to work in his sawmill. There

was no work around money, Mississippi in those days, and we took anything we could get.

We had driven to Greenwood the day school let out and looked for work for two days.

Mr. Mack, Billy Joe's father had loaned us his car. He wanted us to find work. I think

he was afraid we would lay around all summer and not make good use of our time. Neither

of us needed encouragement. We both wanted money in our pockets. I didn't have a girlfriend

at the time, but I was open to all prospects. Billy Joe and Bobby Lee had been together

since they were 12 when Bobby Lee's family moved to town. They became friends right

away. It was not common in those days that boys and girls formed close friendships at

that young age, but there were no other girls that lived close to us, so Bobby Lee became

one of the boys in a way. Everyone at school liked her. She was a good sport, laughing

and teasing us about various things. She fit right in. Her and Billy Joe had not been

romantically involved until the last year. We had all turned 17 in the previous school

year, and I suppose hormones took over and they fell in love. They let each other do

...