Mom likes to tell a story about a bus trip she made with my two brothers, traveling from Colorado to Arkansas in the early forties. As the bus crossed the state-line into Arkansas, she was asked to move to the front of the bus to make room for others to move to the back. She refused to move, and let the bus driver know that everyone should be able to sit anywhere on the bus that they chose. She recalls sharing the back seat with "a nice black lady" who helped her take care of my brothers as they traveled further South.

In February, 2008, in that same state, she cast her vote for Barack Obama.