They Called Lee a Genius

Lee and Dennis, the two brothers, had bonded. The two shouldered the challenges of the highs and lows in their lives, together. Now they were at the age when each could work side by side as a team for the Osages. The wealth from these folk's oil royalties allowed them to invest in well bred horses and needed trainers as well as riders for their fine animals, and this is where the Jones boys were needed.

"Respect good horse flesh, Son," Joe instructed his boy. "Don't climb up on a good-looking animal while you are looking like a bum."

Bell was always there with the camera to record her clean, well-dressed sons, not only on the backs of prize race horses, but also in the new cars of the Osage people. The camera recorded other positive activities. It was all a record of family history.

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His dreaded asthma Lee had begun to outgrow. However, their living in the lowlands along the river where mosquitoes were an eternal pest, brought malaria upon him. Throughout his life he was plagued with chills when he had something as common as a simple cold. Riding horses was taxing but not as much as some of the other heavy menial jobs he might have tried to do. Race horses were plentiful at this place and time. A gambling society of the era loved the thrill of betting on the horses. For that matter, greyhound dogs were raced, as well. It was the fad. The Indians had the money and the time to invest and they were able to hire people to train and groom the animals. Lee and Dennis, through Joe, were able to have work. The skill they had learned from their Aunt Jude's tutoring made them sought popular. Their slight weight and small build was desirable for riding and training the swift race horses. Rather than hampering him because of the asthma, the work helped Lee to become more physically involved with a sport and healthier.

The day was bright and sunny and the boys were happy to be so well accepted by the general crowd of men. A world of success they felt was coming to them, maybe as great as had been achieved by their Uncle Dee. And then, just as the cruel hand of fate has a way of ending hopeful promise so it was at this time.

Whatever spooked the horse while Lee had him on the track was never discovered. Like any accident nothing could be explained. Why did the horse lose his direction, jump the railing on the edge, and speed off to run into the stones stacked up and left by builders of a nearby structure? The horse could have veered off in any direction other than where the rock was dumped. None of that mattered though, Lee was injured, and severely. For months he lay in a coma. When he came out of it, he had amnesia. Lee didn't remember where he was, who he was, or the people around him.

Bellzona and his Grandmother Elizabeth Ann spent many a day working with the teenage boy. His Grandfather, Nathaniel Stewart Collins, Elizabeth's husband, also spent most of his time reading and talking to the boy while Lee was in a coma and after he regained consciousness.

Elizabeth Ann sang the hymns recorded in her little hymn book that was as old as when her family had to flee from Scotland.

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The prayers Elizabeth sent up to her maker were with tears in her eyes.

Although she had a large family who all enjoyed her visits with them, she put these down on her list and spent most of the time with Lee. Elizabeth was now studying the Bible with a renewed interest. The little copies of the Golden Age magazine she read to Lee over and over until the magazines were as worn as any loved book.

"I think Lee is going to come out of it." Elizabeth remarked to Bell.

This was a grand moment in their lives because once again there was hope. The fight for his life was practiced at a time when there were no lofty edifices with great, advanced technology and machines. The simple love and devotion to the boy on a one to one basis by the whole family spoke long and well of their respect for life and living. No one knew at that point in time that the person in a coma could hear and understand. The family simply held on to the belief that as long as there was breath, hope prevailed.

All the activity on her part to see her Grandson alive and well, paid off. Lee's health was finally restored. The things he accomplished after he recovered were unbelievable. His brain must have, indeed, learned all the material that was read to him. They later called him a genius.