Growing up in a small town/community has its advantages and disadvantages. There is a sense of a close-knit brotherhood in a community of 7000 people, yet there is a common problem of everyone know each other's business. Gossip can spread like a wild fire. Conversely, a family in need or in a crisis will have hundreds, if not thousands, of people to aide them through the troubled times.
We were a close family with a few close and trusted friends. Childhood in the 60s and 70s was spent as a part of our family unit; primarily Dad Harvey, Mom Ellie, my sister Jenny, and myself. Meals were eaten together, and the mealtime conversations and discussions were extremely instrumental in developing the closeness we shared.
I'm Kevin Spencer, and I'm a third-generation rancher in the central valley of California. I grew up on a ranch with my parents and grandparents. We have 120 acres of property, with nearly 20 acres of cattle, hogs, and poultry. We live 2 miles from the small community of Danielson.
Danielson is a community consisting primarily of people employed by the oilfields, railroads, as well as ranchers and farmers. The rest of the population owns and operates the various retail and service industries in town. It's blue collar to the extreme.
Our family has done very well since grandpa Kellen Spencer began ranching back in 1928. We had survived the Great Depression and World War 2. By 1980, when this story begins, I was 20 years old and my sister Jenny was 22.
In some ways, we were just normal kids. We went through the Danielson school system. There was the K-8 Danielson Elementary School and Danielson High School directly across the street.
Although we were good students, ranching was in our blood. Both Jenny and I were anxious to not only keep the family business going, but determined to grow it even larger.
Grandpa and Grandma had retired from the business, although they did help my mother keep up her huge garden that included tomatoes, okra, and green beans. She also had several large fruit trees as well as pecan and walnut trees. This wasn't part of our business, but it kept us flush with frozen vegetables and fruit preserves that mom and grandma would make. She'd also crack and freeze the pecans and walnuts, which were used frequently when she made her pies and other desserts.
To my parent's credit, they never looked at my sister and I as just free labor. In fact, by the time we were able to help with the business, they had set aside money for us...as if we were employees getting paid. By the time we were adults, we had several thousands of dollars put aside to build a home on land designated for us.
They had deeded each of us 2 acres apiece to be given to us when we turned 18. We were never forced to build our future homes on it, but we willingly did so. By 1981, Jenny had finished building her home.
Jenny was amazing. She was a tall, pretty, and slender with dark brown hair always pulled back in a ponytail and was often seen wearing a baseball cap. She was strong and one hell of a good worker. As much as I enjoyed our ranch, it's possible the she enjoyed it even more. She even told us that the only way she would ever get married would be to a guy that would take on the ranching duties with her, or at least willing to live on the property with her.
We were very close, still are. As kids, we were best friends. To this day, that is still true. Yes, we bickered and argued like most siblings, but the love between us was always stronger than our temporary disdains for each other.
As I mentioned earlier, in a small town, gossip spreads quite fast. Although we were just the typical American home in so many ways, we were unique in that our family never saw a need for any modesty around each other.
We didn't walk around naked all the time, but we never saw a need to cover up. Jenny and I had a large bathroom across the hall from our bedrooms. It was no big deal to walk in on each other as we were bathing or showering. I would often use the bathroom sink for brushing my teeth or other hygienic issues while Jenny took a shower...or vice versa.
Mom and Dad also never saw a need to cover up for sake of modesty. In the scorching heat of the central valley summers, the ladies being topless or completely nude was very common. Conversely, covering up during the cold, foggy winters was equally as common. The same was true for Dad and me. It was often too cold in the winters to be naked except to shower and sleep.
That's not to say that there weren't times that Jenny and I didn't notice each other. That was just normal. Once, when I was 19, she walked into the bathroom while I was taking a shower. I thought Jenny was still in town and I had some privacy. I had a full erection and was working on relieving it when she walked in on me. Our shower glass was frosted, so she had no idea what I was doing until she opened the door.
Also, there was a small sitting area at the rear of the shower. It wasn't unusually for us to visit with each other while seated inside. Rather than let me finish, she insisted on watching. Although not a virgin, she had never watched a guy jack off before. Strangely, having her watch me got me more excited. I turned around and saw her naked form. I stared at her smallish breasts and dark patch of fur between her legs and came very quickly.
She had seen me with erections before, but that was the first and only time she ever saw me do that. We were (and still are) very close, but that's the closest to any kind of sexual activity between us. We knew that we could never cross that line...or get near that line...again.
During high school one day, Jenny innocently mentioned to a schoolmate that she had brushed her teeth that morning while I was in the shower. It was just part of the conversation and Jenny thought nothing of it. It was normal to her. The girl thought that was strange. "You saw your brother naked?"
Word got around fast. Jenny caught a lot of shit for that. However, typical of her, she fought back. She might have been tall and skinny, but the other girls knew she could kick their asses if they didn't lay off. That hard work at home paid off for her when needed.
It might have been tougher on me since the jokes often were about Jenny's body and about incestuous behavior. I was protective of my sister. She was tall and skinny, but I was tall and muscular. By the time I was a senior in high school, I was 6 feet 2 inches and was a solid 200 pounds. I could intimidate most guys. One of the great advantages of life on the ranch was the fact that I did strenuous work that kept me in great shape. There was no need for expensive gym memberships. Work took care of that.
The best part was that I really didn't think of it as work. I loved the physical part of the job. I loved what I did. By the time I was in high school, I could keep up with my dad's workload when I wasn't in school. Even during the school year, I would get up early for feedings, get back inside and shower, then eat some breakfast and head to school. I took care of the cattle and hog feedings while Jenny took care of the chickens, hens, and turkeys.
As I mentioned, Jenny and I were close and shared many things with each other. I was the first to know when she lost her virginity.
When she was 18, in 1976, rather than go to the senior graduating trip to the huge water park, she chose to attend a much smaller gathering at her boyfriend, Jerry Burn's home. His parents invited about a dozen of his close friends for a night of bbq hamburgers, chips, sodas, and swimming.
While swimming, Jenny and Jerry began making out in the pool. Not too long afterwards, they snuck into his room and she gave herself to him. They dated on and off until a year ago, when things got serious.
