22
Florence and Bill were married 10 years. There were
many good times. The little girl riding her Ranger bike
through the city streets of St. Louis never imagined she
would one day walk the streets of Jamaica, Puerto Rico and
Mexico. With Bill, Florence visited each of these exotic
locales and more. They traveled for pleasure. They traveled
for business going to trucking conventions across the
country. They traveled for fun with the children, sometimes
to the Ozarks, other times to Key West, Florida.
Then trust was broken. Florence reacted blindly,
divorcing Bill and moving to Buffalo, New York with the
children. Only an order from the family court brought them
back to St. Louis.
Life does go on. The painfulness of that time of her
life eventually receded. Almost 40 years later Florence still
carries the heartpain of betrayal. The ache is acknowledged.
Florence accepts that pain and suffering are part of life. She
has the wisdom to know it is not the difficulties of life that
sour a personality. It is the attitude one takes toward the
difficulty. For Florence, life is meant to be celebrated. Past
events are not allowed to dampen the joy of living.