Under the Tulip Tree

by Michelle Shocklee

Our city, like the rest of the country, was feeling the effects of the depressed economy, yet folks valiantly met each day head-on with the determination to get back to normal. Every time I heard that phrase, I silently asked myself if we’d ever see normal again. What was normal anyway? It had only been seven years since the crash, but the life I’d lived then seemed to belong to someone else.

I believe it’s important to remember the past as it truly was, not as we wish it to be.”

“I believe understanding events of the past can help us make the future better for everyone.

Wasn’t that what life was about? To know and be known. To offer encouragement to others and share the burdens we all face. No matter the color of one’s skin, weren’t we all supposed to care about each other?

You had no more control over our ancestor’s actions than she did.”

Was that the key to surviving, no matter what life hands you? Find the good among the ashes?

I ’spect my life might not have been so hard had I let go of the hate.