A Dream Come True

In 1952 I was the child of two teenagers who had to get married. We were a poor family who lived a simple life. On Sunday we went to church and on Friday nights we went to the fish camp. A few Saturdays a month we went to the Belks in downtown Charlotte. The highlight of my week was getting a new Nancy Drew novel. I had never heard classical music and I had never seen any pieces of art. The only art I remember was a painting in my meemaw’s house that pictured two young children walking over a very rickety bridge with an angel hovering above them. In high school, my guidance counselors would not let me take honors classes, and I was told to just graduate from high school, get married and work at one of the local mills. I asked for help in applying to college and they told me I shouldn’t go to college. When I was in high school I met Chuck Cook and he literally opened my world. I wanted more, so I figured out how to apply to college and I went. Chuck and I were married when I was 20 and when we were living in D. C., we visited the National Museum of Art. I will never forget the day that I walked into a room and I saw my first Monet painting. I stopped dead in my tracks and stood transfixed by that painting of the Rouen cathedral. I think I stood there not moving for about 20 minutes as tears streamed from my eyes. I had never seen anything more beautiful in my life. That painting spoke to a part of my soul that I did not know existed. We found several other paintings by Monet and my love for his art was confirmed. Today Chuck and I visited the Musee d’ Orsay and when I walked in the room with the first of Monet‘s paintings, I started crying. Today was a dream come true for this Monet lover. The artist’s paintings seem to glow, and once again those paintings touched a part of my soul that no other paintings can. Thank you Chuck Cook. You really do make all of my dreams come true. Read more