Hi, I’m Ann.
And what a looong way I’ve come from the cotton patch.
Daddy was a sharecropper……He was taken out of school in the first grade to help his father mind the fields. Mother met him in the summer before her junior year in Columbiana High School. They were at a dance. Mother’s nick name was Bobbie and she was the best dancer in Shelby County. From all I hear, it was love at first sight. Mother had to stand on tippy-toe to reach 5′ tall. Daddy was six feet, one. They cut quite a figure. He was handsome and she was a darling. He was uneducated but extremely gifted in many ways; she was educated, beautiful, and practical. Their union produced 8 children–six boys and two girls. I was the middle living child–three brothers older and 2 brothers and 1 sister younger.
I’m writing a book that begins with that part of my life. I learned survival at an early age, since I was born only six years before we entered World War II. Poverty in the 40’s was not very pretty. We had little in material goods, but we learned that there were more important things in life.
Growing up in and around Birmingham, Al in the 18 years that included, the cotton fields, mining towns, the steel mills, the farm and city life in the period of desegregation prepared me for the life of College, New York, Belgium, Africa, back to Alabama, Georgia, Florida and then back to Georgia.
It has been, and is, a very exciting life. I am looking forward to sharing it with those who are interested.
I am currently living in my dream home. It is a little cottage tucked away in a mountain setting (but definitely not in the mountains). The cottage comes at the end of an absolutely charming drive, lined with azaleas, hydranga, and flowering bushes. Truly, “my lines have fallen into pleasant places.” I am a baker and cook; I renovate homes–mostly mine at this point in my life; I read a lot–mostly science fiction, historical novels and the Bible; I am a realtor. And in my spare time, I sit by my fire and watch Fox News and the Food Network.
Life is good!
poverty is never pretty. whether it was in the 1940s or the 1840s
nice opening post. I can’t wait to read more. It makes me very happy that you are doing this. I’m looking forward to learning all kinds of interesting things about the family.
Deirdre
Thanks my dear. My difficult decision will always be “where to start” and “where to leave off.” It’s a bit kin to trying to craft a resume with 55 years of work experience! And another challenge will be to not treat this “communication” as an email.