America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking
FIRECRACKERS
Copyright 2009
By Mary Marcia Lee
Norwood
She introduces me as her Oldest and Dearest Friend.
I brag that we were Friends-In-Utero.
Actually it was our dads who knew each other before we
were born. Our moms met in the hospital.
They shared the same room.
From Left: Marcia in her mom's arms.(Natalie wears ruffles.) Debbie's Mom, Edith, in polka-dots. Copyright 1949 Marcia Norwood |
The first picture in my baby book is a black and white
photo of my mom and her mom sitting side by side on a bed at Lakeside Hospital
in Kansas City, Missouri; each holding their newborn baby girls. Her complexion was fair and her hair was
light. My complexion was olive and my
hair was dark.
She is older than I am . . . by four days. She was born July 1. I was born July 5. Both of us: 1949 Firecrackers, who grew up in
a town named Liberty.
thegraphicsfairy.com |
thegraphicsfairy.com |
I am blessed to have an archive of our friendship…thanks
to Mom's journal entries and photos, preserved in my baby book. My "First
Call" (visit) when I was twelve days old… was to her house.
We shared the same black, canvas baby buggy
while our moms went for walks around the public square in Liberty,
Missouri. Our moms wore dresses, as it
was not acceptable for them to wear anything else during their summer strolls
in 1949. She says she remembers me
sucking on her big toe.
We were five and one-half months old on our “First
Christmas” in 1949. She gave me bath
toys and balloons. We exchanged gifts on
holidays and birthdays. She brought me cologne and an atomizer on my fourth
birthday: and two pairs of panties on my fifth.
We loved being girls - even at four and five years old!
Marcia's Birthday Party. Copyright 1954 Marcia Norwood |
The commemorative plate on my wall of the (now
demolished) Liberty Methodist Church is a reminder of our days together in
Sunday School and church. We earned pins
for perfect attendance in Sunday School.
My pins are now stored carefully on a ribbon in the bottom drawer of my
jewelry box.
The First Day of School in 1954, we posed for pictures
under the replica of the Statue of Liberty at Franklin Elementary School. We
danced together around the May Pole (1955) in Miss Burnham's and Mrs. Cox's Kindergarten
class.
We learned to read in Miss Yancey's 1st Grade class (1955-56).
Debbie is front row in polka-dot dress. Marcia is to the left of the teacher (Miss Yancey) wearing ruffled dress and white socks and shoes. |
We had Mrs. Kirkland for 2nd Grade (1956-57). One of us (I can't remember which one) fell
down a ravine as we walked home from school.
One needed to be rescued. The
other one did the rescuing.
We ventured out of the school building without chaperones
while in Mrs. Ballew's 3rd Grade class
(1957-58). Our mothers wrote
special notes so we could "do lunch" at the one and only hamburger place across the street from Franklin
Elementary. No cheeseburger, fries and chocolate malt ever
tasted so good! We were the envy of the
entire class...or so we thought.
Things changed in Liberty in 1958. For the first time the Liberty Public Schools
were integrated. Along with all the
other 4th Grade students...we were sent to Garrison School, a former school for
"colored" people.
For the
first time... the Firecrackers were not in class together. She joined the Flying Blue Bird Troupe. I was a Sunny Blue Bird.
We both made new friends who were not carbon copies of
ourselves.
In the Summer of 1959, we went off to Camp Fire Girl
Camp. To this day - we both can still belt out a
hearty rendition of the Camp Shawnee theme song.
"We're from Camp Shawnee,
Shawnee are we!
Singing together...
Right merrily.
And now that we are together...
Happy are we.
C - A - M - P
Shawnee
Double - e!
Rah! Rah! Rah!"
We were growing up.
Our friendship survived.
Before we attended 5th Grade at Ridgeview School
(1959-1960)...my mother had "The Talk" with me. She told me about changes that would soon
happen to my body; about menstrual cycles; and how married people made
babies. I could hardly believe it!
"You mean to tell me that you and Dad have done that
four times?"
I was the eldest of
four children. I didn’t say I was the
smartest.
Mom cautioned me to keep the information to myself.
Immediately I walked to my best friend's house and
spilled my guts.
She thought the entire matter was gross. She asked her mom if it was true.
"Honey, that may have been how some children are
born," her mom said, "but I can guarantee you that Daddy
and I did not do that to get you and your brother."
Her mom lied. She
also called my mom.
We started wearing bras and Kotex pads in Junior High
School. We wore bobby-sox with our
skirts and cheerleading outfits and
knee-socks with our flannel nightgowns.
We "walked the halls" with our steady boyfriends, and met them
at the school sock-hops after the football and basketball games.
We wore dresses, lipstick and eye shadow to high school. Our skirts could
be no shorter than one inch above the knee. In 1963, we turned 16 and passed
the test to get our driver's license.
Neither of us had a car.
Our
Liberty Bluejay Varsity Cheerleading Squad earned the Spirit Stick and a First
Place ribbon at cheerleading camp at the University of Oklahoma, Norman,
Oklahoma. We learned a pom-pon routine
at camp that summer to the Beach Boy's song: "Be True To Your
School."
Beach Boys perform: "BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL"
CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=A111US0&p=be+true+to+your+school+video+beach+boys
She was the Yearbook Queen. I was the Sweetheart Queen. Throughout high
school we went on double-dates: some to
the drive-in movie theater (our boyfriends had cars) and to Prom (1966 and
1967) and Graduation in 1967. We
attended different colleges. She left
for college a week before I did. Her mom invited me to lunch. We both missed
her terribly.
We voted for the first time in November 3, 1970. She is a Liberal. I am a Conservative.
We both were married in 1970. I was one of her bridesmaids. She was my Maid of Honor.
Bride: Marcia; Debbie is to the right just behind Marcia. Copyright 1970 Marcia Norwood |
She has lived all around the world. There have been spaces in our friendship when
we would not see each other for months or even years. And yet when we get back together, we pick up
the conversation as if we had never been apart.
We celebrated our 40th Birthdays on July 4, 1989, and our
25th Wedding Anniversaries in 1995. We have
mourned the death of her mother and my mother and father.
She has two biological, adult children and a son through
the miracle of adoption. I attended the
shower for her new son, and secretly thought she must be crazy to have another
child "at our age."
In 1999, and again
in 2002, we adopted little girls from
China. She was one of the few who understood. She wrote a Letter of Recommendation for the homestudy/dossier for our adoption.
Although it had been a couple of years since we had seen
each other...her familiar voice was on my answering machine: "Hi, Marsh. It's Deb.
I thought you might need someone to talk to."
We now “talk” on facebook.
She introduces me as her Oldest-and-Dearest Friend.
I brag that we were Friends-In-Utero.
Both of us are still firecrackers…1949
models.
Debbie. Copyright 2011 Debbie Capra |
Marcia. Copyright 2013 Marcia Norwood |
Thanks for stopping by!
Come back often, and invite a friend!
Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking
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