When I describe my mother as the most unselfish person I have ever known it isn’t that she gave her possessions away or that she was quick to give money to the needy, although she did all these things and more, it is that she was unselfish with her time. She gave her time to anyone that needed her help and without reservation or every begrudging the time lost. She did everything from the heart without complaint.

A great story about my mother is the time that a young black man decided to ring her door bell. He was just a guy working with a magazine subscription group that traveled across the country selling magazine subscriptions. He had no idea what he was getting into when he rang my mother’s door bell and decided to give her his prepared sales pitch. He started by saying the magic words, “Hi, I’m selling magazines to try to earn money for college.” Once those words left his mouth my mother was off and running. She responded by saying, “If you want to go to college we have a fine university right here in Norman.” Just then she grabbed her purse and car keys and told the young man to get in her car. She drove the bewildered youth straight to the admissions office at the university where she loaded him with pamphlets and information on financial aide. She then set him up to receive a tour of the campus while she waited in the student union. When he returned she had already called my dad and advised him that she was going to invite this young man to live with them and stay in their spare room so he could attend college. Fortunately my father was accustomed to these types of calls from my mother so he just shrugged and said ok. He said he never knew whom he might find at the supper table when he got home from work. This time however, the young man just looked confused and bewildered. He told my mom, “Hey lady, this was great and all but I’ve got to get back to my street corner by 5:00 or I will miss ride.” She obliged but not before letting him know he had an open invitation to live at her house and to go to college if he wanted to go. She once took a young girl to a junior college and before they left she had her on the cheerleading squad with a full scholarship. That woman was sheer magic!