Before the pageant, my brother had gone to the refrigerator to get a drink for my mama. Unable to wrest it from the plastic ring that held the 6 pack together, he got some scissors. Sparing my readers the details, he injured his eye and lost all vision in it at the age of 9.
Of course, chaos ensued. My brother was rushed to the emergency room and neighbors came to pick up my sister and me. In an attempt to keep us from worrying (I was 10 and Tammy was 8) our friends tuned into the pageant and we all began to watch. Phyllis George was a favorite from the beginning. Her charm and personality overcame a very weak piano rendition of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head" to help her become Miss America that year. As she took her triumphant walk, her crown fell off of her head. She bent down, picked it up, and just kept going.
And so did my brother.
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