I came home from school early. As I opened the front door I looked over my shoulder and saw the flag flying half-mast at the high school across the street.

My grandmother was watching tv in the den. She had driven 300 miles to take care of my brothers and me while my mom was in the hospital with new baby brother, born the day before. She explained what was happening.

When my mother called that night, she told my father she couldn’t get the help she needed because so many nurses were upset.