Christmas Past

This picture was probably taken in 1959. The handsome young man in the middle is my father.
The little girl on the right is me, age 3 years. The little girl on the left is Susan (Susie to me) Ferrell. Our dad's had taken us to a downtown Oklahoma City department store to see the Christmas displays. Susie was a year younger than me so she was around 2. Our parents were good friends back to their pre-child days and my sisters and I spent a lot of time with Susie and her sister Cindy who came along a couple of years later.

Fast forward a few years and this is Susie all grown up

Wasn't she beautiful? And smart too....she became a lawyer and worked for the federal government. I named my favorite stuffed animal "Susie Teddy" after her. She liked Ringo, I liked Paul. When she heard that my mother had given birth to TWO babies (my sisters are twins) she wanted to know if she could have one of them. She loved cats and dancing and was so fun to be around.

She died in the Oklahoma City bombing.

And I hate that the tragic way she died threatens to eclipse all the things about her that were so wonderful. Its just wrong.

So Susie, you have not been forgotten. Who you are and what you lived for lives on in the memories of all of us who loved you. Your life defines you not your death.

May your memory be eternal.