I don't think very many classmates remember Pat. She was painfully shy, quiet, and like most of us who grew up in that part of town, poor. She lived a block up from me, and I passed her house every day, and later, when I had a paper route, went there once a month to collect from her father. It was then that I realized we had more in common than just living in the "poor" part of town. In those days it wasn't talked about, but some parents taught their kids more about fear than anything that would benefit them later in life. I don't think most of you grasp the severity or brutality of what I'm trying to say, but I know first-hand what she endured and survived.
I hope that once she escaped that existence she found a life that was fulfilling and rewarding enough to push those memories from her mind (you can't erase them, just bury them deep).
Anyway, to a girl I hardly knew, but shared so much pain, I will remember always.
George Haling
I don't think very many classmates remember Pat. She was painfully shy, quiet, and like most of us who grew up in that part of town, poor. She lived a block up from me, and I passed her house every day, and later, when I had a paper route, went there once a month to collect from her father. It was then that I realized we had more in common than just living in the "poor" part of town. In those days it wasn't talked about, but some parents taught their kids more about fear than anything that would benefit them later in life. I don't think most of you grasp the severity or brutality of what I'm trying to say, but I know first-hand what she endured and survived.
I hope that once she escaped that existence she found a life that was fulfilling and rewarding enough to push those memories from her mind (you can't erase them, just bury them deep).
Anyway, to a girl I hardly knew, but shared so much pain, I will remember always.