Mom and Dad both had jobs lined up at a hospital, I think they were both cooks. Sonnie had stayed in Illinois with friends and Vicki, Debbie and I all shared a bedroom. It was a nice house that they rented for us to live in.

Grandma brought us a new kitten. We named him Perrywinkle. Grandma said that was the Perrywinkle was the Florida State wildflower, and she liked them. Perrywinkle was a really pretty dark tabby, and I loved him alot. We still had Dusty and it took them a while to become friends, but they finally did.

I don't remember a lot about the house, except for the room off the dining area that had a door going out into the back yard. There was a really bad smell outside. To me it smelled like really strong table pepper. We couldn't play back there because it didn't smell good at all.

The room off the dining area was not an big a room, but I liked it. I could hide in the back corner and no one would bother me. I had a little cord organ that I could go there and play, and a little sewing machine I could sew clothes for my Barbie Doll, that Aunt Betty bought me. It was around that time that I was told she 'favored' me because she thought I was named after her. Dad made it very clear that I was NOT named after her. My name is Suzzanne has 2 z's. Ded said it was the french spelling. Aunt Betty's middle name was Suzanne with 1 z..

The school was a lot farther away than where we were. It was a long walk, and Debbie could only walk me part way because she was in a different school. She told me it was okay, I could do this. It was scary at first, but I learned to like it. And I could make it all the way home without her too. That wasn't so bad.

My 4th grade Teacher was Mrs Friend. It took me a while to learn how to read her name, and she was really patient with me. She taught me how to sound it out, and then remember the whole "i before e" thing. I liked her alot and really wanted to make her happy.

Some of the kids could be mean. We didn't have a lot of money so we didn't have store bought clothes like the other kids. I had clothes that had been Debbie's before they were mine. Mom had made most of those clothes. Mom made me a New Dress that was all mine, and I loved it. I wore it to school a lot. Everyone said it looked like a nightgown, but I didn't care, it was all mine. They just didn't know how special it was. Mom had made this one JUST for me.

When it came time for our reading class, I had to go to a different classroom. The other kids made fun of me for. They said I was in the dumb kids class. They said if I was in that class it was because I couldn't read. I knew I could read, so I didn't know what they were talking about.

One day we had a reading assignment. We then had to fill out a paper about what we read. I finished mine and sat quietly at my desk waiting for something else to do. The teacher asked for my paper, and took a long time going over it. She then went to my regular teacher and she spent a long time looking at it. Later my regular teacher asked me to do another reading assignment, I did, she looked at it and ask me to stay after school. I was so sure I was in trouble.

it turns out, they were really confused as to why I had been sent to that reading class. She said I belonged in her reading class, which was a higher reading level than what I was already to be in. I didn't understand what they were saying, but if they told me to change lasses, I did.

After that, things started changing pretty quick. I still had trouble with math, but I was pretty good with reading, and my writing assignments made Mrs Friend raise her eyebrows too.

We had an assignment to write about something we had seen on TV. All I could think of was the commercial for Excedrin aspirin. Instead of just a boring report, I wrote a skit. I called it 'The Mean Mad Mother,' or 'Excedrin Headache number 464'.

In my skit, the mother was a magazine writer who had an article due that day. Her husband couldn't find his tie, her son couldn't find his shoes and her daughter could not get the 'rats' out of her hair. All this with burning eggs on the stove and lunches to get ready. She was never going to get that article done on time and NOW she had a headache. Time to reach for the Excedrin.

I got an 'A' on the assignment. I told the teacher, who was so pleased with the results, that if she wanted to she could let the kids in the class perform it. She thought about it and said, "No!"

I was dejected. Then she smiled and said "YOU will do it." "YOU will pick the people to play the parts, YOU will direct it, and YOU will be responsible for putting it on for the class." I was happy, confused, and scared to death, but I did it. I picked the players, and I was surprised when everyone wanted to be in it.

There was this one boy I really wanted to play the Dad, since I was playing the Mom, but when he auditioned, he wasn't very convincing. The boy that I did pick really nailed the part. The brother and sister were likewise NOT the people I thought would be good for the parts, but they were the ones who were meant for the parts. I suppose time wise the skit only took about 3 minutes to perform, if that, but we did it for our class, and everyone laughed and enjoyed it very much. Then the word spread. Kids started telling other kids. Kids told their teachers, and my teacher told other teachers. We were touring the school all the way up to the 6th grade. Everyone loved it, and I loved that everyone laughed.

At Christmas we formed a Christmas Choir, and went caroling around the school. That was the first time I had the opportunity to direct a Choir. It would not be my last. In fact, it was just the beginning.

That was by far my favorite school year forever. I really blossomed with teacher, who recognized something that other teachers had missed. I did have other great years, and a lot of valued experiences in school, but my 4th Grade year with Mrs Friend was the start of my foundation.

Sonnie had come down to stay with us. He went to work for a shoe store and for my 10th birthday he bought me a stuffed German Shepard dog. I loved that thing. It was nice having him around. I had missed my Big Brother.

Sonnie joined the Navy and went off to boot camp. He was there for 9 weeks and we went to Orlando for his graduation.

We were traveling at night, on a 4 lane divided highway we did not have interstate highways then.Some police cars sped past us like they were going to a fire. Then, up in the sky, we saw this really big bright light. We watched it hover for a minute, and then it shot straight up into the sky and disappeared. Up the road, the police (about 5 of them), were standing on the side of the road, looking up, pointing, and shaking their heads. I think we were all wondering "what on earth was that". We all agreed - a UFO!

After that school year, Dad decided he was home sick. he missed the snow at Christmas, and Florida was just too hot. We loaded up the cars again and headed back 'home'. so follow me to where my journey continues in Decatur,Illinois