"Twin life, as you can imagine, is double full of happiness, memory, blessing, difficulty, challenge, obstacle, and reward. The stress is multiplied--bottles, diapers galore, and oh, the messes they make--but the blessing is too. Little things like finding the time to spend with both together and individually, and to tailor that play time for a little boy way and a little girl way, can be tough. On the other hand, enjoying those moments when they bond with each other, in their own little twin way, and with us is really easy. Just over a year ago, I couldn't imagine life with twins. Now, I can't imagine life without them." Corey Latta is the Director of the College & Young Adult Ministry for Christ United Methodist Church, 4488 Poplar Avenue, and Vice President of Academics at Visible Music College, 200 Madison Avenue. Jennifer is a full-time mom.
"The most challenging thing I've ever faced was getting over the loss of my mother. She was diagnosed with lung cancer and was sick for a long time, but then it went into remission. When it came back, she didn't tell anybody because she didn't want to be operated on again. On his deathbed, my stepfather made me promise to stay with her and take care of her, so my children and I moved into the house after he died. We were a happy family, and she and I became even closer than we had been before. She gave me a lot of motherly wisdom, and when things troubled me, she would tell me to pray. She always said she wanted to live long enough to see my son graduate from high school, but she didn't make it. On that last day, the last time I saw her, she told me she loved me and I told her I loved her too. She was my best friend."
"The best thing about summer is playing in the sun and getting in the pool. I love school too. We get to do homework, and after school I get to go home to my mama. I love my mama and my daddy."
"I like to read mystery stories. They're really cool to me. You can never tell what's coming next, you know? In real life, you can solve mysteries like who stole something from you or what happened to a lost ring. Maybe tomorrow I'll write a mystery story myself!"
"I visit Dunbar Elementary and Melrose High School every week because I believe God calls churches to bear witness to the love of Christ and to be beacons of light in the community. To fulfill that purpose we have to connect with people, so when I go into the schools, I try to interact with faculty, staff, parents, and students. When I first started going to Dunbar, a young lady came up to me in the cafeteria and asked me to be her daddy. The other kids laughed at her and said, 'He's not your daddy!' but I told her, 'Yes, I'll be happy to be your daddy.' The kids stopped laughing and started asking me to be their daddy too. When I said yes to them, the first young lady got a little jealous. She stood over to the side watching it all and looking sad, so I winked at her and said, 'But you'll be my special one.' I could tell you story after story like that." Rev. Hosie L. Hopkins, Jr. is the senior pastor at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 2731 Enterprise, in the Orange Mound Community.
FB: New Hope Missionary Baptist Church "Each of the fiber art pieces in this show represents the interconnectedness between generations in a family. You'll notice that some of the pieces are sparser than others, but they're still connected. Each one is its own complete world." Tori Lyn Cooper, Fiber Artist
FB: Tori Lyn Cooper "Our family does an event every year for the Spanish community. My mom gets businesses to donate presents, and we give them out for free. Every kid who comes to the event gets a free toy. It's fun to give things away. I like to see the happy looks on the kids' faces."
“In the 50’s our family got a television, and one of the first programs we ever watched was the Ed Sullivan Show. Oh, we were excited! We all gathered around and Daddy turned on the TV. It just happened to be the night when Elvis Presley was the guest, and he was doing all that wiggling up there on stage. My daddy said, ‘I’m not going to watch that boy, and neither are you.’ He was very strict.
“During WWII, I worked in the Defense Depot. I was also a USO hostess and attended all the USO dances. That’s how I met my first husband, the father of my boys. We dated all through the war, and when he was sent overseas, he wrote me a letter every day. We married in 1945. He was a steel worker, and his job moved him around a lot. Sometimes we joined him, and sometimes we stayed with my parents while he worked, but after a while he stopped sending for us, and eventually we divorced. “I was by myself then, and it was up to me to support us. At the time, I didn’t think raising children as a single mom was all that hard. I had two good boys, and we always had a pretty good time. I loved them so. I just did what every other mother did: I worked, fixed meals, ironed, cleaned, and took care of the children. We never ate out. I never complained though. I didn’t say anything bad about my situation and never blamed anyone. I was just thankful to have a good job ($1.25 per hour) so that I could take care of my boys. I always prayed that my children would grow up to be good boys, and they did. Each of them thinks they’re my favorite [*laughs*]. We had no money, but we had food to eat and a place to live all those years, so we were happy." |
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March 2021
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