When I was just six I went to school in Okinawa. It was an American school, and although we were living on an island in the China Sea, it was just an American school a long way from "home." To this day I am not connected to any of the adults who were children in the school that I attended so long ago.
I remember one name only - a seven-year-old girl named Hilda Nunamaker. A girl from South Carolina. Her father was stationed at the same military base.
The military quonset huts that our families occupied were directly across the dirt road from each other. Hilda and I were best friends while we lived there. Once our fathers' tours of duty were over, and both our families returned to the States, I never saw her again.
But my life was touched forever by the time I spent with her. To this day my speech is laced with a slight southern twang because of the time I spent with Hilda.
I often wonder if she remembers me and how her life turned out. I will never forget her name. Hilda Nunamaker, where are you? Patti Nuckolls is asking.
2 comments:
Patti Nuckolls is asking???
My name is Rachel Patricia. I grew up being Patti . . . after my maternal grandmother. It was her nickname. Her real name was Mattie Belle. In my late teens and early twenties I was "Pat." Around 30 I started using my first name . . . I am so much more comfortable as Rachel.
Nuckolls? - maiden name.
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