The Last Bloom
Page 30
Now, the first speaker, an elderly woman a few years younger than Cassia, walked to the podium. When she spotted Cassia sitting in the front row, she smiled warmly.
“My name is Doctor Ruth Ann Boyd-Turner and my brother, John Tyler and I owe who we are and what we’ve accomplished to Cassia O’Clarity. She cared for my sister before her death and then for me and my brother. She encouraged John Tyler to stay in school and to further his education. He went into law enforcement and later entered politics, becoming an Arizona congressman. As for me, Cassia paid for my tuition to medical school which is where I met my husband, Doctor Eastman Turner. Together we founded The Alma Lee Sloane Woman’s Hospital in South Eagle’s Landing, a facility that addresses all women’s issues, from pregnancy to mental health.” Her smile deepened. “Your father was right, Cassia. God had a plan. And I’m so blessed you were a part of it all. Happy Birthday and thank you for all you’ve done.”
Another elderly woman took the stage. “My name is Anna Beachum Grant, and I owe my success to Cassia O’Clarity as well. She encouraged my mother, Olivia, to do alterations and sewing, bringing her customers. I helped and after graduation Cassia strategically, not to wound my father’s pride, set up a scholarship for me to attend fashion school. Today I am a designer. The Beachum-Grant label is noted throughout the United States and Canada. In honor of the one who gave to me, my company gives back to many charities. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, Cassia…and Happy Birthday.”
Then it was time for her to take the stage. When she stood at the podium she received a standing ovation. “Goodness,” she giggled. “And I haven’t even said a word yet.” The audience chuckled and sat down.
She looked around the room. “I can’t help thinking how wonderful it would be for my mother, Amanda Gregory Eagle Holmes to be here right now to witness how the town she initially funded has grown. She used to tell me of a fantasy she had as a child, whereby she could fly wherever she wanted, or send a message through the air. With the convenience of planes and computers, we can do all those things my mother only dreamed about. She was a true pioneer woman, who could shoot with a bow and arrow and a spear. Yet, she could play the violin, cook, and crochet, keeping the home fires burning. Even before she married my father and fostered this town with the foresight of my brother, Gabriel Golden Eagle, she braved enemy attacks, kidnappings, and survived living in an Apache village as a warrior chief’s wife during the infiltration by the white agents. And still she managed to bridge the gap between the races. Today all the faces I see in the audience are the product of my mother’s melting pot. She passed away at the age of ninety, mindfully sharp until her last breath. And it was her request to be laid to rest between the two men she loved and married Reverend Joshua Holmes and Chief Peter Proud Eagle. He called her, Golden Lady.”
A word about the author…
Roberta C.M. DeCaprio is a freelance writer of all genres in romance and woman’s mainstream fiction. A prior “sexuality” columnist for A.B.L.E.D. Women magazine, and former Assistant Editor for Independence Today newspaper, (both publications dedicated to the needs and rights of the disabled), Roberta has insight into the problems other physically challenged people face due to living herself with a walking impairment.
She is a self-published author of a book of poems, Once Upon a Sonnet, has won awards for her poetry, and been published in several anthologies.
Ms. DeCaprio is a graduate of the Writer’s Digest School and Cornell Cooperative Extension. She held office from 2002 to 2004 as newsletter editor for Capital Region, her local chapter of the Romance Writers of America, interviewing such published authors as Elaine Raco-Chase, Valerie Hansen, Barbara Daly, Sue-Ellen Welfonder, Mary J. Forbes, Sharron McClellan, Mariah LeGrand and the late Kathleen E. Woodiwiss for the former monthly publication, Capital Romance.
A mother of two, and grandmother of four, Roberta shares her upstate NY home with two dearly loved cats, Mikko and Misha, and her artist/screenplay writer husband with whom she’s collaborated on a script for a 24 Hour Film Race in 2015 and a sitcom that has won the attention of a producer.
To view Roberta’s back list, read excerpts from her books, and check out her blog, log on to:
www.robertacmdecaprio.com
www.thewordmerchantssociety.blogspot.com
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