Regrettably, the rest of Buddy's family treats Sook badly, looking down on her and scolding her as if she were a child. There is indeed something simple and child-like about this old lady, but that only serves to emphasize that she should be treated with care and sensitivity, something that the older members of Buddy's family don't seem to appreciate.

As Sook has led a somewhat sheltered existence—she's never been to a movie, eaten at a restaurant, traveled more than five miles from home, or sent or read a telegram—she's incredibly naive, innocent in the ways of the world. She thinks nothing, then, of giving her seven-year-old cousin Buddy some whiskey to drink. And not just any whiskey, either, but illicit hooch bought from the notorious local bootlegger, Haha Jones.

When two older relatives find out about this, they're absolutely furious at Sook. Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, they treat her like a child, angrily scolding her for giving whiskey to a seven-year-old. They scream all kinds of offensive words at her, such as "loony", which has led some scholars to believe that, far from being a tad eccentric, Sook actually has learning difficulties. In any case, Buddy's relatives are furious at her, and after their brutal harangue, Sook takes off to her room, where she weeps into her pillow.