This is a picture of my brother Donny as he was affectionately nicknamed.
He was born with a heart defect, As a result, my mother was told he would probably die at the age of 13 years old. He took sick on December 6th and was taken to the hospital for two weeks. He loved Christmas. Santa brought him everything wanted. On the day after Christmas, Donny became very sick again, and his Mother and Father rushed him back to the hospital. Donny died on the evening of December 28th. Donny was buried on his birthday, December 31, 1946. ”
I have reflected on the story Our Town by Thornton Wilder, as Emily goes back to the home of her youth. She longs for her family to value the moments when they are together. She says, “Oh, Mama, just look at me one moment as though you really saw me. Mama, fourteen years have gone by. I’m dead. You’re a grandmother, Mama. I married George Gibbs, Mama. ... Mama, just for a moment we’re happy. Let’s look at one another.”[1]
[1]Thornton Wilder, Our Town, Scholastic Inc., New York, 1938, p. 107.
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