1987, First Grade, Herty Elementary, LISD |
1999, Larry Booker, Jr., Lufkin High School Graduate |
Larry & PawPaw |
Mama (Kim) & Larry |
Larry, Sr. and Larry, Jr. |
"So what do I do now?" |
Larry Jr., Larry Sr., Tanner Lee. Elijah Caleb |
Saying "Goodbye" at midnight: Granny Suzi, PawPaw, A.D. Jacob, Emerald, Tanner Lee, Larry Sr., Elijah Caleb. (Larry Jr. was already off to Project Celebration.) |
(From left to right: ) Bobby Joe (with only his belly and knees showin'), Kim, Larry Jr., Jacob, Larry Sr., Tanner Lee -- all chomping down on sandwiches and chatting amiably. A day of miracles! |
Some days are so sweet they're surreal. Such a day
was May 21, 1999. For the first time in a dozen years,
Larry's parents remained in the same room together. His
grandmother, too, didn't bicker with his mom, as was the
usual scenario, nor did his grandfather "holler at
the kids." His parents sat on the same pew together
at the Pentecostal Campground, the location to which rain
had forced the graduation ceremony to be moved. Everybody
"got along" for a change. Even time constraints and inconvenience didn't 'upset the applecart.' When the ceremony ended so late that there wasn't enough time to celebrate restaurant-style, the hood of Kimberly's aging Cadillac was turned into a table spread. Even the Ames Fried Chicken, jalapenos, and sodas ate atop the car hood at twenty till midnight tasted sweet. It was a special day, a day for celebrating the success of their long-running team effort: "Cocoa Boy," firstborn of the grandchildren, graduated from Lufkin High School. |