915
T his number has meant something to me my entire life. Fifty-four years ago my parents built their first and only home in Jackson, Mississippi. The address: 915 Oleander. Our parents came from relatively poor families, through the depression and through the war and this first house was quite an accomplishment for Jack and Sarah. It was our safe house, our gathering spot, our place of reunion, and our home of plenty. For the last few weeks, the children of Jack and Sarah have been cleaning out and packing up fifty-four years of life at 915. We found Barbie dolls, army trunks, house plans, pictures upon pictures, crystal bowls, china, tupperware and Hallmark cards galore! It seems my mama saved every hand-written note she ever received. Beautiful words she treasured. But above every piece of memory there was stuff stuff and more stuff! This week, I went back to a practically empty 915…just me, alone. I was anxious and thinking about how the void in this house would ...