COMMUNITY

I grew up in a small town~~~~I mean a very small town!
The kind of small town, that if you did something wrong at a friend's house, their parents would scold you~~~~I mean really scold you, and then you had to face another dressing down from your parents, not only because of what you did, but because their friends had to fuss at you too!
That was horrible! It wasn't so bad if one parent did this, but their entire circle of friends was in a conspiracy against the Ray children to do this too!
Actually the entire town did this to every child, because this was Mount Dora!
They banded together, and meted out fair punishment(although we didn't think it was fair then) and you didn't get away with a thing! No sir......!By the time you had committed your deed, Reid's Service Station had found out about it; then it was all over the Dixie Drive Inn and Gladys, somehow or another got wind of it!..... It just wasn't fair!!!
The worst thing was, they made you feel like you had let everyone down, because they told you that they expected so much more out of you.Ofcourse, then you had to face your parents, and that was worse than facing Hitler himself, because if there was one thing you did NOT want to do, was to let your parents down!
When I think back on those days, I am so blessed to have had such a wonderful childhood. If I needed a ride home from school when Mother couldn't pick me up, Mother would ask a friend to pick me up, and I would stay at her house until Mama could get me. If it was Martha, we would decorate miniature sugar cubes until Mother picked me up. If it was Mary Lib, I would learn about flower arranging, and if it was at Jewel's, I would sometimes help eat her yummy Pecan Pie's or maybe play with her daughter Janice, who is one of my dearest friends today! I can look back on this whole episode with fondness because Mount Dora knew the secret. They knew the secret of community! That's what it's all about when making lasting friendships! They knew the secret started at the very beginning and bonded itself together in love with God at the helm! It just won't last any other way.
Mount Dora knew the secret was community and our parents held onto the key that unlocked that secret. Before they died, they willed that key to Tara; Janice and me.
I guess we will leave it to our generation too. I can think of no better gift after the gift of salvation, to leave someone, can you?
Becky