Class Difference or a Sign of the Times
I spent most of my childhood in lower to middle class socioeconomic status, and later, most of my adulthood in middle to upper socioeconomic status.
What I remember about my childhood was the soft voices of women in deep discussion about life and living. The thought that comes to mind most about my mother was this idea that others sought her counsel. That makes a lot of sense to me because mom was a very loving person. This is rural Louisiana in the 1960s.
We moved to Florida and shook off the church, my mother’s life was still one where most sought her counsel. I know that mama’s best friend (Linda) did nothing more than cross the field between our houses in tears and that is how they met. My mother immediately took her in much like you would a hurt and stray animal. They helped each other find jobs. They saved S&H Green stamps and went on spending sprees at the S&H Green stamp store. They absorbed more and more friends as time passed.
As a young woman and mother, I had a group of friends that were wildly different from each other and yet they were crazy about each other. Always careful to listen to each other about kids, husbands and life. They did not look or act the same. I don’t know how we all got together, but there we were for lunch every month. A catholic woman married to a Mennonite, two Midwesterners looking for a…
