This Saturday, January 14, 2023, my day started out attending the funeral of Cousin William, stopping by to check on my first cousin Cheryl, and visiting the grave of my father’s only sister, her husband, her son, and her grandson. After leaving those places, in the cold, I met with my Sorors of Alpha Kappa Alpha as we supported the youth event at the New Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place, stopped by to help my cousin Dr. Darryl Tolbert and my classmate, Pastor Noble Washington as they performed a committal service at the grave site. I finished off the evening with two more of my classmates, Master Cornell and Brenda Baker-Johnson, I missed so much time with family and classmates as I traveled around the country, but God kept me to be able to be back home and to make a difference now in the lives of their children, grandchildren, and the younger generation. It was so lovely to walk up, and Pastor Noble looked at me and called me Mother. I looked at him, and he said I know you; you look like a mother, but you’re not a mother.” I said, Noble! You know me, you were good friends with my brother Abel (smh). Finally, he said, “Who are you? I said, “Tootie.” He was so surprised. He could not believe it. I was the lost child. Child #7. I never hung out; the one afraid of the dark, sickly with Asthma, and afraid of mom (lol), which probably saved my life. It felt good to hear my classmates say how good it was to see me and that I have been back home since 2000 and still have people see me not as a “walking telegram post” but as a “woman of worth.” I was often lost in my family because my sister Kathi was well-known, and people always thought she was older than me. I often got blamed for being Kathi because people never called me by my name, I was always known as Tootie, and now I thank God that He kept me and continues to keep me from the snares of this world. I would like to leave you all with one thought. Seek God first; seek to know and not to be known. Young people, you do not have to be popular with man; ensure your life is rooted in God and His master plan. God will elevate you in His time. Serve others and make your life count. As we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, please let us not take their suffering in vain. People like Dr. King, Cousin William James, Reverend Henry Crowell Jr., Deacon Elijah Davis, Uncle William Crowell, Mr. Herbert Coleman, Mr. Frank Washington, Mr. Fordham, My Cousin D.V. Vereen, Mr. Ed Croskey, Mr. Van Poole, Uncle Red Piner, Mr. E.K. Johnson, Mr. James Cunningham, Mr. Albert Cunningham, Reverend O.V. Pinkston, Mr. Herbert Mack, Uncle Steve Bright, these men were role models who remembered where they came from and sought to make a difference in the lives of the youth in this community. I pray that this generation will build a legacy for the young boys. Only what we do to build God’s Kingdom will last. It was a great start to MLK weekend, seeing those who served. Rest Easy, Cousin James; we have the watch now.