December 12, 2017. Madison, Mississippi. Lost Friends.

I wonder what she looks like now?  I would love to talk with her.  Mary was the adopted child of Salvation Army officers, Major and Mrs. Martin.   They were stationed in two of the cities where we lived, Calgary and Vancouver and we saw a lot of Mary.  When we moved to Toronto, Mary visited us several times, always staying with us.  My sister Carol, Mary and I were good buddies.  And then we lost her.

Mary's parents were older when they adopted Mary.  They did not fit the mould of a Salvation Army officer.  They were quiet and gentle.  They loved Mary and she loved them back.  Major and Mrs. Martin were appointed to Vancouver to be a visiting evangelist in BC, which I always thought was interesting because neither was a good speaker.   They would spend a week at a corps and hold meetings.  One of the things he did was paint.  It was odd.  While he painted, Mary sang and played the piano.  In between verses, he would speak while he painted.  Mary never complained and seemed happy to help her parents.  I would have hated it.  Because her parents were often away, Mary stayed with us and had a lot of fun.

Mary was the same age as Carol and when she turned 16, she was given a mini minor auto.  We three had a wonderful time in that little car.  I have no idea how her parents could afford that car but they did.  Mary was multi talented.  She sang beautifully and she played the piano well.   She did well at school and became a nurse.  We were not aware, but she visited us so she could see her boyfriend Don, who was also the son of SA officers.  I went to school with Don in Toronto and he never seemed appealing to me but Mary married him after he finished medical school.  They moved to St. Catherines and he became an authority in athletic medicine. and opened his practice.  For a few years, we exchanged Christmas cards and then everything stopped.  Don and Mary had several children,  but at a young age, despite being thin and fit, Don died of a heart attack.  My sister tried hard to keep in touch with Mary but she did not seem interested.  Her Salvation Army was behind her.  But we had such fun together over the years that I do not really understand.   Mary is another long lost friend and I miss her.