Page 6 - May 2015 Catalyst

Joe Grimaud
LIFE CHANGING EVENTS
Today as I write this, it is the 20th an- niversary of the Okla - homa Federal Building bombing. That was a severely tragic event, which killed 168 and
injured many more.
Outside of Oklahoma that tragic event has faded somewhat in our minds as it was followed by a much more devas- tating event on 9/11/2001 when 2,996 lost their lives when the World Trade Center was demol- ished as well as a significant portion of the Pen- tagon and an airliner full of passengers in a field
in Pennsylvania.
Each of these events made indelible imprints on the lives of many as their loved ones were taken from them. In the case of the 9/11 events, it was signif icant enough to make an indelible impact on our nation and the world. An event, which changed the way we live. Do you recall that we used to walk directly through airports without goingthroughsecurityinspections? AsaPilot, I recall f lying into Leesburg airport most ev- ery weekend from 1991 to 1995, within the 30 mile ring around Washington DC, in my own airplane without even talking to anyone on the radio unless the weather was bad. That has all
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Gladys Grimaud
THE STRENGTH OF A WOMAN
My little mama, ‘Bit- ty’ as she was called, tucked her fawn colored chihuahua, ‘Bitsy,’ under her arm and urged me to call my cocker spaniel, ‘Peaches’ and get ready
to go. It was almost time to leave Chattanooga, TN, on our way to Augusta, GA, where Daddy had a new job at the construction of the newly configured Sa- vannah River H-Bomb facility site near Barn- well, SC. Daddy sensed Mama’s anxious green eyes looking for a signal that he was ready to leave, and before she asked, he answered her inquiringeyes, “I’malmostready. Onemore minute.” Daddy’s tall handsome frame cast a shadow over the trailer he had hitched up to his black Ford pickup. This small, gray ‘Pace- maker’ trailer would be our home for several years, and Daddy was just doing a last minute check. “Let’s go,” he said, and we all climbed
into the cab.
I was excited about the move to Augusta where some of my cousins lived, but I was not excited about being crammed into the pickup truck on the front seat (this was before pickup trucks had back seats) with Daddy, Mama, Peaches, Bitsy
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6 CityLight.org
May 2015