The people I grew up with

Here are some of the people from the reunion. I will use all maiden names as I can't remember married names.

This is Donna Davis, yours truly, and Kim Sammons. I would have known either of these two had I seen them anywhere. They look exactly the same.
This is mom at the end of the evening. I was still trying to say "goodbye" to everyone. Doesn't she look like she's having fun? I promise you, she did her fair share of visiting.
This is Mr. and Mrs. Hoffpauir. I used to date their son and he was one of my best friends. He also took me to my prom and on about Monday or tues. before the prom I went to his house to tell him that I wasn't going because I didn't have a dress. He wasn't there and his mom asked why I needed to talk to him and I told her. She said that she would make me a dress. And I'll be darned if she didn't make me the most beautiful dress I'd ever seen. When I saw her, she told me she still has a picture of it. I told her that I still have the dress. I'll try to pull it out one day and take a picture for you. She's a miracle worker.
This is Bro. Jim Brooks. He is the preacher who baptized me. This is his daughter Jan who had disabilities and was denied education at La. colleges. She came to Texas, went to college, and is now teaching children with disabilities. What a wonderful success story.
This is Geraldine Sheppard. The single most influential non-family member in my life as a child. I was in a marching group called "Cherokee-Ettes". We marched in parades in Shreveport, Natchitoches, Coushatta, Dallas. If there was a parade, we were marching in it. We won award after award. We were good. It is wholly due to the diligence, knowledge, perseverance and patience of this woman. I am who I am today in part because of the confidence she had in me, the patience she showed me and the encouragement she gave me. I am not the only girl that can claim this. I know she's touched hundreds of lives and I hope one day she understands how wonderful we think she is.

It was amazing to see all the people who used to live in this neighborhood. The parents, who always seemed so old to us kids, hadn't changed. The kids while growing up, still looked like themselves. And no one spit nails at anyone else or had any unkind words to say, what a great group of people.