I grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

 

T’was born shortly after my parents moved into a sweet little three bedroom house on a cul-de-sac called Wentworth Place, in a suburban neighborhood known as Madison Park. Previously the land was part of Frank (father of Rev. Billy)  Graham’s dairy farm. 

 

My brother Gordon Golding…who was “Chip” to family & friends… and I shared a room. 

My drum set and his penchant for reading reached a point of incompatibility such that Chip moved out ….and into...essentially...a closet off of our den.

He appeared happy and content there with his books and Che Guevara posters. (and then Chip went to off to college and moved to Paris….and never looked back.🇫🇷)

 

When I was in 9th grade at Smith Junior High School I met a bubbly, bright-eyed, transfer student named Cindy Case, and for some reason she took a minor shine to me.

 

 I did a major shine right back and we became girlfriend and boyfriend. 🌟

 

Her family…. Jack & Gayrie, and two younger brothers, Cole & Chip lived a short distance away from Smith Junior High on Gentry Place, right next to Pinewood, my elementary school. Cindy’s dad Jack was a hands-on, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth kinda guy who could come across as gruff, yet was filled with love and always seemed to have the best interest of others in mind. An example of that was when Mr. Case was working for Sol’s Industrial Sales and he hired as “day laborer” to help clean out an old cotton mill in Rock Hill SC.  I was 14 years old.

 

It was dirty, hot, manual work and at the end of the day I was usually filthy and tired. I remember that one day I was riding back to Charlotte with Mr. Case and I mentioned that I had to go home and get cleaned up because Cindy and I had a date.  He looked at me and said something to the effect of:

“Son, don’t change your clothes… a woman should see her man the way he is after putting in a hard day’s work just so he can make the money to take her out”.  

 

I’m not sure there was a profound life lesson in that exchange, yet I took his advice, went straight to the Case’s house, did see Cindy, and remember Cindy laughing and suggesting I might want to go home,  get cleaned up and come back later. 😊

 

Do take a moment and read her obituary. Cindy was a caring, loving sparkplug of a person who was taken away much too early.