Nineteen Thirty, Nineteen Thirty-Three, & Me

Nineteen Thirty, Nineteen Thirty-Three, & Me

by Margaritta Maria Fultz, December 2, 2023

I once had a mother and father. I was their late-in-life child;
I haven’t consciously thought about that sentiment in quite a while.

They were spiritual people who Loved God and lived their lives in peace;
Now both are in Glory, resting in power, with Jesus…physically deceased.

One was born in Mississippi delivered by a midwife in her parent’s own home;
The other was born in Homer G. Phillips Hospital…at eleven he was sent to a foster care home.

My mother was her parent’s only child, and my father was one of five;
They couldn’t have lived further distanced childhoods on polar opposite economic sides.

But one summer they met by incident when my father was a porter with no car;
He met my mother when he was taking a shortcut walking through my grandparents’ yard.

I can’t attest to all the details. All I know is that summer in the 50’s they met;
They courted and married in 1956. That is how our Fultz Family was beget.

Momma was born in 1930. Daddy was born in 1933.
They had my two brothers in ’57 and ’60, and then later there was me.

I came along in ’69 when Oliver, Jr. was twelve years old and Ramon who is now Ramon, Sr. was only nine;
That year over a half-million American troops were fighting in Vietnam. It was a politically polarizing time.

God blessed me with this family. God blessed them with this only girl;
With hopes and dreams of making a difference in this God-forsaken world.

I once had a father and mother. I was their insecure child;
I did not have them as long as my two brothers did. It’s difficult to reconcile.

There are days I am happy to be here. There are days I feel all alone.
It doesn’t sit well with my heart sometimes that Momma and Daddy are gone.

Lord, you brought me through for a purpose, and my family taught me to pray;
So that all of us can reunite on that “getting up yonder” day.

Momma was born in 1930. Daddy was born in 1933.

This year he would have made 90, and she would have made 93.

I am 54 years old and counting. My brothers are 62 and 66.
The earth is in a state of turmoil that only God can heal and fix.

God works through men, women, and children who know well enough to follow Christ;
Serving God is not easy and simple. Just going to church will not suffice.

We must pray and meditate daily. We have to hide the Word in our hearts;
We must reach out to our communities in humility to care for the poor and do our parts.

We are not simply here because we were conceived by parents who were young or old;
We are not here to simply do what people in power tell us to do. We have to be upstanding, disruptive, and bold.

My parents were not forgettable. Sister Ramona Williams Fultz and Elder Oliver Fultz, Sr. built their legacies in me;

God fully intended for there to be nineteen thirty…nineteen thirty-three…

And subsequently me.