Required Reading

Thursday, October 25, 2012

HBCU Homecomings, part 2.


"The great will be great."

~ my daddy, circa 1988

___________________________________________________

I kept trying to move past this topic but I couldn't. So forgive me for lingering a bit longer in the HBCU homecoming high. Admittedly, it has taken my mind off of elections and debates and the unfortunate things that are being said and done surrounding that.

Plus. I ran into several people who admitted to me that I'd cracked open a code that they'd wondered about for a long time. Like, what goes on at these schools and why would anyone choose one of them in the first place? Like what exactly IS the deal with these fraternities and sororities that black people are still pledging allegiance to even though they've been out of school forever? All of that.


And so.

Since I'm still on the HBCU homecoming hype (and I have some more really awesome photos to share with you) I decided to follow up with a part 2 on HBCUs and the homecoming experience connected to them. I hope you don't mind. If you do, check back next week -- I promise to have something medical here waiting for you.

Okay.

So, check it. There are roughly 105 historically black colleges and universities in the United States. I say "roughly" because anything you get from Wikipedia should have such a disclaimer, shouldn't it? Anyways. Being from California, making the decision to go to a HBCU means that you're also making the decision to go far away from home. Why, you ask? Because as I said in the last post, the closest HBCU to California is in Texas. Or Oklahoma? Shoot. I have to go and check a map real quick to make sure.

Okay. So I'm OK with that statement since Oklahoma is literally right on top of Texas which makes them equally far from California. (Get it? OK? Hee hee.) But seriously though. . . .that isn't by accident. It's all a part of the history behind these institutions.

The vast majority of historically black colleges were started for the education of blacks in the post civil war era. There are a few exceptions like Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and, I think, Wilberforce University in Ohio (where my residency roomie went!) which were both founded in 1854. This makes sense considering that nearly all of the rest of the schools are in former slave territories and that Pennsylvania and Ohio had free men and women even before emancipation. So yeah. This is why you don't really see any HBCUs out west. And why any Cali girl wanting that kind of experience needs to be ready for the shock of humidity, snow or both.

I was one of those Cali girls.

I was always pretty certain that I'd attend an HBCU. Of course, my parents didn't force me or demand that I did, but some part of me always imagined myself in that environment. No one around me talked "down" about them or made them out to be anything other than wonderful, nurturing places of higher education. And while I can't say that I was always sure that TUSKEGEE was the place for me, one thing I can tell you for sure is that the homecoming weekend at Tuskegee is what 100% sealed the deal.


In the fall of 1987, I was a senior in high school and a varsity cheer captain. I was on my academic 'A' game, had nailed the SAT, and was held in high regard by many of my teachers and counselors. Even though I was competitive for schools closer to home and some even further, I'd told my parents that I wanted to go to an HBCU and they didn't object. But being the marcher to my own drum that I tend to be, I was pretty firm that that HBCU would NOT be Tuskegee. (Yawnity-yawn-yawn!) Dad said, "That's cool" as did my mom--but to be a good daughter I, of course, applied there just to say I did.

Well. My school of choice? Oh. I will admit it clearly that my best friend and I had decided that we'd both go to Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. No question. So my parents being the wonderful parents that they are planned a trip down South for me to visit Spelman (and to stop by Tuskegee to see my brother and the rest of our family while we were out there.)

Mmmm hmmm.

So we land in the ATL on a Thursday night and decide to "go ahead and drive to Tuskegee" to see family and to "go to Spelman and the Atlanta University Center before we leave."  I was looking forward to seeing my brother, my grandparents and my cousins, so this wasn't a hard sell. Plus, I had visited Tuskegee as a child. I knew that place. I'd been there and I'd done that. So as far as that doing anything to dissuade me from my firm decision against following the family tradition, I wasn't worried in the least.

And so. We get to my grandma's house late that night, put down our bags and climb under the covers of the guest room beds. (JoLai was a junior in high school and was there for the trip, too.)

I woke up to the sound of drums. Drums from a drum line and people chanting. I opened my eyes and wondered what the hell was going on. What was going on is that my grandmother lives a block from the Alumni Bowl where the football games are played. And where the band practices before games. Yes. They were practicing before a game alright. And that game just so happened to be the homecoming game.

Mmmm hmmm.

Maaaaan. I got hoodwinked. Bamboozled. Run amuck. My dad took me to Tuskegee on what could have possibly been the most cloudless homecoming ever--next to the one I just left. And did I mention? By the time I came downstairs, my brother had come over with his girlfriend at the time who just so happened to be a Delta. A Tuskegee Delta.

Now. Let's just be clear. My sister-in-law, Fran (also a Tuskegee alum) is the perfect woman for my brother and is the most awesomely awesome-sauce sister-in-law ever. Not to mention gorgeous, smart and ridiculously talented. So please don't get any of the following things twisted when I tell you of this former girlfriend of Will's.

Okay, so check it. So this 1987 girlfriend was not only super model gorgeous, she was also smart as all get out and super-duper nice. Especially nice to the kid sister of her first year Vet School boyfriend. So nice, in fact, that she schlepped me onto campus from my grandmother's house that bright sunny Friday and right into the thick of things with her and all of her Delta sorority sisters. Man, oh man. I will never, ever forget the sight of "the yard" that day. Fraternities and sororities singing. Pledgees standing at attention with solemn faces. Music playing from speakers and just. . . energy. I swear it was like a scene out of Spike Lee's "School Daze" and I was just waiting for him to jump out of the bushes to yell "CUT!"

So. Freakin'. Awesome.

The next day? The game. I had never been to a Tuskegee Homecoming game and this? This was crazy. I could not, could not, could not get my mind around all of it. I kept wanting someone to pinch me, to tell me that all of this was part of a movie set and not real at all. But it was. It all was.



I was able to visit some of the academic buildings and even got a formal tour by a university ambassador (which I later became.) I wanted to fight the magnetic pull of my heart to this place but I couldn't. No matter how hard I tried.

When we finally made it to Spelman College on a rainy Monday morning, it simply couldn't compete. And certainly I know from visiting my high school best friend who indeed went to Spelman, that Monday visit in no way gave Spelman a fair chance. (In fact, during my Tuskegee years we both enjoyed each other's homecomings VERY much. . .ha ha!) 

There wasn't a sorority legacy in our family already, so I guess I can say the Delta thing in our family started with me. (Deanna pledged five years after me in an alumnae chapter.) Okay. So I'll admit that Will's 1987 Delta girlfriend had a lot to do with me initially being enamored by Delta women. Particularly Tuskegee Delta women. Once I came back from that trip, I learned a little more. I paid attention to some things that I hadn't noticed before. Turns out that some of my favorite adult role models (in Jack and Jill, etc.) were members of Delta Sigma Theta, too. By the time I set foot at Tuskegee, my mind was made up.

And so.

I guess you can see why homecoming at Tuskegee holds such a special place in my heart. It's tied to the moment I knew that I'd make that place my alma mater. It's tied to my first yearnings to be a Delta woman. And now? I guess it's a part of who I am.

This past homecoming underscored all of that more than most years I can remember--although most have been awesome. Something about the energy. . .the all of it. . . .was so reminiscent of that fateful autumn in 1987. That unforgettable time that I got my first taste of the HBCU experience . . . .and the homecoming traditions wrapped snugly inside it.




I even found myself wondering this year. . . .was there a high school girl somewhere watching me and my linesisters feeling just as inspired as I did in 1987? Were those thunderous drums speaking to the spirit of a pre-teen who'd been dragged along with their parents?



Did our tight hugs and loud songs plant a seed in someone, somewhere? And you know? I couldn't help but think after looking at those images and reading those words again. . . .did those images perhaps give a high school student clicking through on the internet second thoughts about whether or not they could indeed still be all they can be--even if they chose one of these 105 schools?


Maybe it left them imagining themselves a part of life long friendships and sisterhoods. The kind that would make them yearn to come back from far away places like New York and Denver and Los Angeles and San Diego. Year after year.




Maybe someone narrowed their eyes and scratched their head. . . and for the first time wanted to know more about who they themselves are and what all this history could mean to them. Just maybe hearing all of this and seeing all of this piqued their interest. . .piqued it enough to really and truly explore this "different world" that had always seemed surreal outside Cosby sitcoms.


Or maybe it's none of that. Maybe someone somewhere just liked hearing about it because it opened a window into a different culture. Maybe. And maybe it reminded someone that joy is joy and friendship is friendship--no matter what.


my linesister, Falona, at Homecoming 2012
Falona's parents and my parents at Homecoming 2012 (Poopdeck went to high school with them, too!)

Maybe.


Because this experience? It was more than just about higher education. It was about tapping into a part of your soul that some people who look like me spend their whole lives trying to run from. Or even just get okay with. 

I think my experiences at Tuskegee and Meharry helped me to be alright with me. And my culture. Which, if you ask me, is the best and only way to get alright with other people and their cultures.



Half the battle in life is just getting okay with who you are. At least that's what I think.



Me? I had a choice. I know for sure that I could have gone to a large majority institution that any and everybody has heard of and that wouldn't require any long explanation whatsoever. I know that. And not for one second do I criticize or question any person (particularly those of color) who did choose such a school. In fact, I'm proud of anyone who is doing their thing and trying to get a higher education.

Dad introducing his grandsons to the President of Tuskegee University, Dr. Gilbert Rochon

But you know what? I'm so proud that I grew up in an environment and a household where an HBCU was even a consideration. A consideration for a valedictorian like my sister JoLai or a salutatorian like my sister Deanna. A consideration for two other accomplished children who ranked sixth in their high school classes like my brother Will and me. I'm proud that my parents and grandparents painted a picture of these institutions for us not as "last resorts" or "places where black folks used to go" but as places smart, vibrant and promising young people like us should consider worthy of our talents . . . . and places that we could, would, and should feel at home.



But most of all? I'm proud that I listened to my father that day when he told me that "the great will be great." Proud that with each and every thing I accomplish as a professional. . . not one but two historically black institutions can stand to their feet, point at me and say, "We made her."



Because they did.

***
Happy Thursday. (And happy homecoming to all my friends heading up to Hampton University this weekend. Make it count!)





They made me. And I'm proud of it.


***

Kimberly Manning, MD, FACP, FAAP
Associate Professor of Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine

B.S. Biology, Tuskegee University, 1992
M.D., Meharry Medical College, 1996

***

32 comments:

  1. Wow, "they made me"! Such a strong prolific statement, I never thought of it like that! I have been so happy and ecstatic to say "I went to Tuskegee (undergrad) and Clark Atlanta (grad)", but never did I think that what I have become and the contributions I have made and will make that my alma mater will look and say, "I had a hand in that" or "they made me". That perspective takes it to another level of thought. In fact, it holds me accountable and raises a standard for me to further enlighten my culture in excellence.

    Part 1 and 2 of this blog has definitely defined and redefined the totality of the HBCU experience! With great pride, chest up and head high - I too can say "they made me".

    Crystal / Velveeta / SPR92
    Tuskegee University

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    1. You're biased, Front! Thanks for your kind words and for being such a huge part of my experience.

      KD/Hype Man/Doublemint/Spr92
      Tuskegee University

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  2. Well... I remember the day I arrived at Tuskegee. I never could quite put my finger on the pull that it had on me. My parents did the college visit with me and I couldn't believe I wanted to be a sutdent there. When I made the decision to attend Tuskegee, I learned that my aunt and uncle also attended Tuskegee Institute. They even passed along some thigs from back in their day. My dad then said his grandfather had been a part of the Tuskegee Experiment. I was speechless! This summer I attended the very first family reunion on my dad's side. It was there that I learned we still have property in Tuskegee, AL. Talk about rooted and grounded in a place... I believe it was destined to be. I can truly say "they made me"! I am so proud of what Tuskegee helped me to become.

    You have educated many people with this one Kimberly!

    Michele/Attitude/APR 92
    Tuskegee University

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    1. Hey Lady! Now how did you find time to read this already with your busy schedule? That's amazing about your granddad being a part of the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment.Now that's some real history.

      Much love to you -- thanks for commenting, too. I know you're on a iPad/iPhone because educators never have typos! Ha ha ha.

      KD
      33-GT-92

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  3. Honey chile-you WROTE that , do you hear me ? Allow me to reiterate, you do us proud -not just " African Americans", but as human beings. My heart-it swells in regarding who you are as a physician, a daughter, a wife, a mother, and as a woman. Strong work Dr. Manning-strong work , indeed.

    Maria, fellow Meharrian

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    1. Awww, 'preciate you, Maria. You know I do.

      Kimberly, fellow Meharrian

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  4. Beautiful -- how wonderful you have ALWAYS been! I do have a question, and I'm not going to be embarrassed to ask it, even if I am an ignorant white girl: Do any white or Hispanic or Asian or Other people go to historically black colleges and universities? I visited Spelman often in the late eighties and early nineties to hear various speakers (Toni Morrison, etc.) and remember seeing very few. I almost felt like an interloper, particularly at Toni Morrison's reception. I went alone and was so overwhelmed by the emotional reaction that many of the women had to her -- it was as if she was their VOICE and I was just a reader.

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    1. Thanks so much for these open and honest questions. That was actually one of my goals in writing these posts! To help others better understand a part of black culture that isn't shown on the 6 o'clock news.

      According to a quick wikipedia search, there are a number of HBCUs that have a substantial number of students of European, Asian and Hispanic descent. Now. From my experience? With the exception of international students, most are African-American. The other caveat is the professional schools -- we definitely had non-black students matriculating with us at Meharry and I'd imagine it's the same way at other places like Howard Law, Howard School of Medicine, FAMU College of Pharmacy, and North Carolina Central Law. I also know for certain that Tuskegee's College of Veterinary Medicine also has a number of students who aren't underrepresented minorities.

      As for Toni Morrison? Well, you know from this blog how I feel about her. She wrote "The Bluest Eye" -- and this made her the voice for "colored girls" everywhere. That reaction to her at Spelman College doesn't surprise me at all. I'm glad that this didn't stop you from being there. You weren't an interloper.

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  5. Now you just made UCLA look boring as all get out!

    But seriously, I think there is a reason why I"ve heard that HBCUs produce (percentage wise) more graduate candidates than other schools. Something to think about...

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    1. Ha ha ha. I have friends who went to UCLA so I know that many majority institutions form "black colleges within colleges." I know y'all had some fun there!

      I do think the pull to assimilate is dampened by an HBCU experience. I don't try to water myself down and believe that this has been good. Of course, many of my friends who didn't attend HBCUs are the same way! But it has helped me to be more okay with who I am.

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  6. Thank you for this post! I am a few years younger, but This is my story. I remember people asking me "Why Hampton?!" Because of high gardes and high SATs, I could have gone to a "better school". I told them then that WHEN I made it, I wanted to be able to have Hampton lay claim to my success. I am so excited that my friends and I continue to live by the "Standard of Excellence" that HIU has ingrained in us as we excel in our lives. In my heart of hearts, I don't think that I could have done "better".

    Now back to packing for my homecoming road trip! :)

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    1. Yay! My best friend is heading up to Hampton AS WE SPEAK! I'm kind of jealous because I totally want to relive last weekend.

      Look for by bff Lisa (Walker) Dillard -- AKA Gamma Theta Spr 90. She's also my Meharry classmate so knows this feeling well.

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  7. This was a wonderful post. I didn't attend an HBCU (LSU alum) but I absolutely love getting a glimpse into the university. I always thought that I would steer my kids to my school, but reading these posts makes me reconsider. I love the tradition that your family has at Tuskegee!

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  8. I am a second-generation Hampton University graduate and I APPROVE THIS POST!!!! Daddy went to Norfolk State. I loved every minute of my HBCU experience and wouldn't trade it for anything!!

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    1. As already mentioned, my best friend Lisa is a Hamptonian and a Meharrian. I know that she, too, would approve this message! As for Norfolk, another of my good friends went there and loved it. None of us would trade that journey for nothin'!

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  9. Absolutely wonderful posts on your Tuskegee homecoming! You make me wish for an HBCU tradition in our family. I just about fell into every photo here. Made them large and studied all the faces. Thank you for sharing your story with us, and being such an ambassador. So beautiful, all of it.

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    1. This comment makes me so happy. Thank you, sweet Sister Lister.

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  10. Perhaps my niece will go to Meharry, and we can start there! Also, I wanted to say, what your dad said about the great will be great and so consider who should get the credit, wow, gave me chills.

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    1. It would deserve an entire post from me if your niece goes to Meharry. I will fall out and lay on the ground with excitement.(No pressure.)

      One of my linesisters (Falona, pictured above) is a Meharry DDS. My own dentist is a Meharry DDS/DMD and I assure you that she'd have some solid shoulders to stand on (and legacy to sink her teeth into!)

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  11. As we all know, I did not want to go to Tuskegee. I never wanted to go to Tuskegee, not even a little bit. My heart was set on being a Stanford Cardinal for as long as I can remember. Like you, I applied to Tuskegee because that's just what Drapers do! I knew I'd get in, but I had no remote thought of being a student. I loved going to homecoming when we were in high school, but I never felt that pull like you did. Even up to my last semester in high school when kids already know where they're going to college, I KNEW I was going to Stanford. Once I got that acceptance letter, it was a DONE DEAL. After a weekend visit to Stanford for the black high school students who would be freshman in the fall, I was still 100% ready to pack my bags for Stanford.

    Even back in 1989, Stanford was EXPENSIVE... and our middle class parents had a little too much income to qualify me for much financial aid. After that weekend at Stanford, Daddy told me: "If you still want to go to Stanford, Mommy & I will make it work for you. We'll figure it out." But Poopdeck is a VERY smart man... and I think even when I was in high school he knew how my mind worked, because we're a lot alike. He talked to me about the cost and student loans & all of that. Not in a bad way, but just to explain it to me. And then he said one final time, "Is there any way I can convince you to go to Tuskegee? I know you've always wanted to go to Stanford, but I know you would love Tuskegee." And I finally told him, "I'd go to Tuskegee if I had a scholarship." BINGO! He had hit the jackpot grand prize! He appealed to my young, frugal (and pretty smart) mind. I filled out some forms, and in a matter of weeks, I had a full, four year, academic Presidential Scholarship to Tuskegee University... which included a $500 per year (or semester, can't remember) book stipend. I told him, "I'm going to Tuskegee." Done deal. And I never looked back.

    Poopdeck was right. I did love Tuskegee. I DO love Tuskegee. And it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Not just because of the friends I made & being in that HBCU environment... but those two years at Skegee, when all four of us were there together, made us who we are as siblings... as a family. I can't imagine we'd be as close as we are now if I had gone to Stanford. I think Dad & Mom knew that too.

    I love you, Miz!!!

    ~Biz

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    1. I am loving this comment. Yes. I remember that you were 100% on your way to Stanford. In fact, I'm still surprised that you didn't go there sometimes. Now, let me say that two of my favorite people ever went to Stanford -- Lesley M. and Tracey H. -- but. . .I'm soooo glad that you decided to go to Tuskegee. Yes, it was a special time when we all were there. A magical time, really.

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    2. I was just talking to Daddy about this & he has a whole different recollection of the way I ended up at Tuskegee. He said he already knew about the scholarship, and when I went down to Stanford and saw how they created this unrealistic "black love" atmosphere that weekend, I was disenchanted. I do remember thinking "this is not the real Stanford", but I also remember that I was going to go anyway. When I got the scholarship (or found out about it) that made my decision very easy. Dad said it was never about the cost for him, and he didn't mind if I went to Stanford. I definitely remember it was a money issue (in my mind.) But I know he wanted me to go to Tuskegee at that point, because you 3 were there already. Either way, I'm glad the stars aligned & I ended up a Golden Tiger!

      Xoxo,
      Biz

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  12. I love the photo of your dad introducing your sons to the president of Tuskeegee. It made me tear up..What a heritage. And I cracked up at your grandma's comment. She IS for real. My grandma lived to 101 and was clear till the last day. When my son told her she looked great she said, "It's the first 100 yrs that are the hardest!" Loved Part II of HCBU homecoming.

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    1. Love that picture, too, Mary Alice. It's one that I will always cherish. I particularly love the way Poopdeck looks so proud. And as for these grandmamas--aren't they awesome? Love that comment about the first 100 years!

      Thank you, as always, for reading and commenting my friend.

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  13. What a grand spirit of community, support and love you shown us in these posts with your pictures and writing. Makes me wish I'd gone to college with you and your Delta sisters and there was No Way I was getting involved in any sorority when I was at UMKC. So glad you had this Homecoming and shared it. Love Part 1 _and_ Part 2. x0 N2

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  14. Great follow up to your first post, Dr. Kim.

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    1. Thanks so much, BossNurse! It's always encouraging to get this feedback when I detour off into nonmedically related things!

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  15. Another great read-- I will let my 10 year old read this because he has already determined to go to GA Tech and Harvard but maybe Skegee first and then one of the other two!!! Thanks again for sharing.

    I love blogging too! Check mine out if you're ever able. Of course my is professionally driven also-- from the desk of a pastor! (Go figure-- Tuskegee made us well)!!!!!

    Blessings again,

    Sonia Milner Adams (thanks for your sweet reply from part I as I did see it :>)

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  16. I absolutely loved both of these posts ! The way that you convey these experiences and the culture makes me really proud and I didn't even attend and HBCU !!! The sorority stuff is not foreign to me because my sister and I are both AKA's and attended large majority institutions, but I really do hope that my nieces and nephews will consider HBCU's and I plan to do whatever I can to foster their interest and understanding of how important they are and how they need to be supported and sustained. Thanks again for sharing such an important aspect of who you are. Your blog is truly one of my most favorites ! Trust, I would have been just as excited to see you as my Soror Kurlylicious LOL

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  17. Beautifully written!
    The Tuskegee experience was one that I will never ever forget. As a Fastrec student I was dead set on attending TU only for that program then moving on to a more 'mainstream' university. Little did I know that TU would capture my heart and become a place that I would forever hold dear. It was so much more than just an experience it gave me the confidence to enter the world of Aerospace, obtain an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and now function as a successful entrepreneur. I'm Tuskegee made and so proud of the solid foundation it gave each of us!!!!

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