In my writing career I have captured stories and shared the lives of many people in western North Carolina. In every case I have been awed at the accomplishments of each and every person.
Today I want to feature three of them, my three women...and oh, what women they are.
What a privilege to be entrusted to write the stories of their lives. They touched me in ways I never anticipated when I first cracked open a blank notebook and began the process. Each of them chose different paths in life, a major in the Salvation Army, a physician, an educator, but beyond their photographs on the book covers, they are strikingly similar.
They had passion in their chosen fields, a passion that only the outstanding amongst us has.
They had determination that no matter the challenges, they could accomplish the task.
They had a strength that served them well and brought them through their dark, uncertain days.
Most of all, they had faith in God. Each faith story impressed me and drew me beyond my own beliefs into a glimpse of what belief in a Higher Power really meant.
I worked with Jean and Ernestine in person, recording their stories, always pressing, questioning, each session squeezing more and more information out of the recesses of their minds. They were delightful and I miss our interactions.
Jane, however, had passed away before I was approached about the book. I worked with her husband and her friends and colleagues to capture the real person beyond the many photographs. Hearing of her life second hand was different from the other two, but in the end, I knew her as well as I did the others.
These wonders of the world truly need to be honored not just on a designated day out of three hundred sixty-five, but every day. Their stories might just give hope to other women that they, too, can make a difference in their own corners of the world.
Catch of the day,
Gretchen
