Remembering going on Route 66 on our way from New Jersey to
Arizona, sights I saw were astounding and memorable, still
being seen today on photographic screens in technicolor.
Lovely images and memories kept through all these years,
riding across country in a Chrysler that barely held us
six girls and our parents.
On the roof of our car were several barrels holding our
clothes and a few of our precious treasures.
Singing across the United States, having the adventure of
our little lives, loving every mile traveled because it was
all new to us kids.
We went through the South and I will never forget those
hurtful signs that were posted everywhere.
Not understanding why they were even there, afraid to ask
my parents, just watching and noticing people.
The signs all said, ‘no coloreds allowed’, yet the people
looked just like my friends in New Jersey.
Seeing no difference, yet they were being kept apart from
others.
There was no understanding back then, I was only eleven,
yet even now it bothers me to know that there are people
that are cruel and hateful towards others.
That was the only scar on an otherwise perfect adventure,
crossing the country with family, never feeling afraid of
what might be found when we got to Arizona, our final
destination.
We arrived in Tempe on December 24,1961, hoping that Santa
would be able to find us since we were no longer in New
Jersey.
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