Jenna Fiona in Kentucky writes a letter to her new friend in nearby Tennessee after Louisiana Sandusky has emailed her.
Monday, May 2, 2005, 10:09 a.m., C.S.T.~
Dear Louisiana~
Thank you for your very enlightening and informative letter last week; it was so nice to hear from you again! It sounds like you have your hands full: FIFTY TWO children! I can't imagine what THAT must be like! LOL You are true angels; I don't know how you do it, but it is obvious that you love your children just by the sound of things! I would very much love to see your "superfamily" in person; I bet that must be quite a sight!
I trust and hope you had a good time in Louisiana at the Crawfish Festival; but I must make a confession: I am not much of a seafood fan, and I have never heard of Cajun music. Is it like zydeco? I have heard zydeco music, but not Cajun. ANYWAY, I am more of a fan of country, southern gospel, and bluegrass music. My favorites are Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Alison Krauss, Loretta Lynn, the late Bill Monroe, Dolly Parton, Travis Tritt, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, and Alan Jackson. I also love the Happy Goodmans, the Isaacs, Amy Grant, and the Crabb Family. Who do you enjoy in music?
I am sorry if I sounded like I was putting down disabled kids, but I wasn't really. It's just that I really have never been around disabled people, and they have always made me uncomfortable. I know it isn't nice to stare, but sometimes I can't help it; and I always have felt uneasy around people in wheelchairs or on crutches. I hope you understand. My parents have had a problem with disabled people, and I guess their fears rubbed off on me. But I would love to adopt a child with a disability; it may teach me a lot about the disabled, and it would open my minds in ways that I thought were not possible. My parents have always had a "prejudicial issue" with the disabled, and I guess it's because my mom had a cousin who was disabled, and she didn't like to talk about her. Her cousin was supposedly mentally disabled, and she acted more like a very young child than a grown woman, and people shunned Mother because of it, and she was embarrassed about her cousin. It's a long story, and I really don't want to go into details; but that is about the gist of the situation. As for my daddy, he also had a problem with disabled people, and he considered them to be "cursed", and he just didn't trust them. This poisonous way of thinking has affected my views about people with disabilities, but I am more than willing to change my outlook. But I do need help with it; so all I ask of you is to pray for me.
ANYWAY, on to more happier subjects: my kids are all good kids, and they are the lights of my life; but I am wanting to try adoption. I would like to have another child, but I am unable to; my last pregnancy (Loretta Lynn) proved to be difficult, and I had to have a C-section with Loretta. They were afraid that she had some brain damage, but luckily, she did not, and she emerged, healthy and whole. She did have some minor developmental delays, but therapy took care of that, and she is now a very chatty, happy child who is as smart as a whip. Her brother and sister (Travis and Reba) idolize her, and they dote on her; and they are her protectors and dearest friends (although they DO fight on occasion, as all kids tend to do at times). They are all very active, and they keep this mama on her toes!
Well, Louie, I will go for now. I heard the washer go off, which means that I have to put the clothes in the drier. Yes, I am in the middle of doing laundry, and I figured I would write while the clothes were in the washer, which I did. I will write more later; take care, and hope you have a safe trip back home to Tennessee! God bless you always!
(((HUGS))) and love, your new Kentucky friend, Jenna Fiona. :)
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Reviewed by Tracey L. O' Very
5/2/2005
Karen I really like this one.
It really has a lot of the way people are think and act and the "poisoning of the minds".
a very great message.
Thanks (c:)
tracey
Let this coming of age story of a boy named Bean take you back to a simple time. Set in a small southern town in the 1960's, encircled by a river and gleaming white cotton fields.