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Coming of Age in America
Epilogue |
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When I was finally able to cast a ballot in a presidential election I voted for Richard Nixon because he promised to get us out of Vietnam. Everyone said he was a crook, but I didn’t care. I was tired of listening to the rising body count every day on the evening news. Too many had died. Gas had risen to thirty-six cents a gallon, a postage was six cents and Don McClean’s American Pie was playing on all the radio stations. I had no clue what a computer was, but IBM had introduced the first floppy disk to the world that year. Many years after I had written my first book, I looked up my old typing instructor and told her about everything that had happened during those last days of school. I also thanked her for teaching me how to type. It’s come in handy over the last several decades. As things turned out, I was just one of her many students and she said she did not recall the incident. Such is life. Sometimes we believe we are the center of the universe when we are only a blip passing through. We are here to serve Him and if we do He’ll see us through it all. I also paid a visit to the nursing home where the teacher was living that had the misfortune of getting tangled up in all that electrical wire I’d strung around her classroom. I made a full confession and thanked her for teaching me so much about Mississippi’s history, some of which I have included in these stories. She remembered me and was so glad someone had come to visit her that she gave me a hug while saying all was forgiven. I visited several of my former teachers and let them know they had impacted my life more than they would ever know. My only regret is that I wasn’t able to reach out to more of them. My classmates, that had been like extended family members, slowly went their separate ways. Some married, some went to work, some to college and some to war. Each one of us was finding our own way in the world. We had all come of age and were beginning to chase our own version of the American Dream. ********************************************************************** AcknowledgementsAlthough I enjoy writing and sharing stories there is no way I can do it alone. Thank you Becky Simmons for doing the hard work, the editing. Thanks also to the numerous people who have allowed me to share pictures. To Cathy Barnes for sharing pictures taken by her grandfather, Walter Bennett. To the late Cavett Taft and Lorene Woods for sharing old pictures with me. To The Winston County Journal and its historical printing of old photos printed in its 75th anniversary special edition. To all the LHS Mirror Staffs in years past for taking pictures and preserving the history of our county. To Speedy Calvert for sharing pictures of Winston County’s Old Boss pine tree. To Mike Boyles for the picture of Little John and His Merry Men. To Dr. McNeil for teaching me how to type. To Martha Nabors for introducing me to journalism and photography. And thank you to anyone else that I may have failed to acknowledge. No man is an island and can do nothing on his own. Lastly, thank you to the late Lewis Grizzard for inspiring me and showing me that it’s okay to laugh at yourself. ********************************************************************* P.S.I hope you have enjoyed these stories and they have given you a pleasant distraction from the turmoil going on in the world this summer. Plus, I hope they brought back some of your own good childhood memories. The unnamed people I have written about have meant a lot to me and I cherish their friendship and memories. I did not call them by name fearing my friendship or memories may not have gone both ways. I have received a few calls inquiring about them and have stated that in order to protect their privacy or prevent embarrassment to them they shall forever remain nameless except in my heart.
The End of "Coming Of Age in America
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