Hi

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog. My name is Lillie and I am a retired nurse who you might say has too much time on her hands. I was born in Asheville NC, during the time of segregation and  a time where there were rules governing all areas of life and you were expected to toe the line. I came from an intact family that prized education. My parents worked and we kids had the job to go to school and make good grades. Nothing less was acceptable. I applied to Grady Memorial Hospital School of nursing,  in Atlanta Georgia,  and was accepted. Little did I know that this was the start of a 36 month journey of hard work and learning beyond anything I had ever known. Here I was just one of 67 girls.  I had to make it on my own merits or (god forbade) fail. Coming from a small town where everyone knew me and my parents,  to this foreign place was  a shock to my system. There are big holes till yet in my memory. We were told when to eat and when to sleep. Oh, yes did I  forget to say we had to live in the dorm. There was no exception to that rule. As freshmen we could only be out until eight o’clock. And if not studying or working that increased to midnight by the time we were seniors. Living in a city as beautiful, genteel, and educational as Atlanta, was a gift. We were in an area where there were five Black Universities and a few trade schools. There were many things to do and for a young girl who had been sheltered by her parents this was like taking water to s thirsty man. Sunday evening would find us going out and seeing a young Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Ray Charles,  and Miles Davis.  Little did I know that all these things were little pieces of the quilt of my life.  

To be continued.