When things go wrong as they sometimes will, When the road your'e trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low, and the debts are high, and you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing down a bit ... rest if you must … but don't quit. Success is failure turned inside out, the silver tint of the clouds of doubt, and you never can tell how close you are; it may be near, though it seems afar. So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit; it's when things go wrong that you must Not Quit.

Mama survived several surgeries before she finally passed. The doctors had given up on her long before she passed. The doctors were puzzled. So were we. Shortly before she passed she said that the love of her kids forced her to stay as long as possible … She Just Would Not Quit!

At one of our recent family reunions, my sister Irma R. reminded us of my mother's love of learning and of poems. She recited the poem "Don't Quit." It almost brought me to tears. I don't believe I thanked her for reciting that poem. So I will do it here! Thanks, Sis! For helping to keep mama's memories in all of our hearts and lives.

Mama was a very religious person. I remember calling her to tell her I would be coming home on a short vacation en route to my next duty station when I was in the army. The very first thing she would always say was to bring a suit (preferably your military uniform) so I would be ready to go to Church on Sunday

Mama was the family anchor, but only when Dad was not around. When dad was there, she would always yield to him. At the time I did not quite understand why she did things this way … but in retrospect it has become clear to me how wise she was. She had an insatiable desire for knowledge. Shortly after she learned to play the piano, she decided to study nursing. She was about 65 years old at the time. Everyone at our church can remember how she could recite poems from the great masters at a moment's notice. Perhaps that is why I am especially adept at reciting poems and learning languages myself. And you will notice as we go on that I love telling stories … for me they seem to be a healing source and therefore have always been a major part of my life.

One of the things I came to realize early in my military career was that growing up within my family made it almost impossible for me and the rest of us to be anything less than successful, notwithstanding any education that we may have acquired. Being the sons and daughters of our Six-Pack would surely carry any of us a long way toward success.

Somewhere I read that, "If you find yourself in a situation where new situations no longer test you in your life, you should probably begin to worry, as it is likely that God no longer has any use for you." - Unknown.