ON December 7th, 1942 I was in the fifth grade living fifteen miles from the small town of Waycross, Georgia.  We lived in the Dixie Union community and my highfalutin older brothers called our home, The Sycamores.  A more apt expression would probably be Tobacco Road.

In 1942 December 7th also fell on a Sunday.  Although we were Baptists we’d worshipped that morning with the Methodist.  The preacher even came home to eat with us and my guess is we had fried chicken and potato salad and probably burnt caramel cake.

We were about to leave for church when our static filled radio broke the news.  I can’t remember if we went on to church or not.  I do remember staying glued to the radio as our beloved FDR told us, “This is  a day that will live in infamy.  Today the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  I was horrified!

Today my church got dressed up for the coming of Heaven and Earth’s greatest gift: Jesus!

Poinsettias, garlands, wreaths, carols, special music, Chrismon ornaments, flautist and dulcimer solos  the manager story, and the presence of our little ones made this a great celebration.

We topped it off by gathering around our large Chrismon Tree and singing GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN

December 7th at Morningside Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia, my husband and I were joined in holy matrimony by Rev. Cecil T. Underwood.  What a happy, precious memory that December 7th evokes for me.  We had 36 years of a life we shared with joy before death took him from us.