Sherrie Longton has questions about her family that she'd like answered.
Musical Introduction
"My mother was a G.I. bride. She must have loved my father dearly because she went to live in America with him, leaving behind her doting Dad. Six years later they were divorced. As I grew up Mum rarely talked about her life with my father, but she would occasionally throw up a tit-bit to my eager ear.
Once she told me how she thought she was getting fat and applied sandbags to her stomach to flatten it... and then she discovered she was pregnant with me.
She met my father at a ballroom dance.
I knew all about my mum's love of dancing yet I know nothing about my dad.
I haven't seen or heard from him since I was two years old. Was he a good dancer?
Mine isn't a unique tale - war has a way of affecting so many lives long after the fight has been fought, leaving behind unanswered questions.
As a child I asked no questions; as an adult I have so many. But sadly Mum died before I had got to ask them. Does he ever think of me?
I was born in Clarktown County Hospital, Las Vegas... doesn't that sound glamorous? I don't know, I can't remember that far back. But I do have a few photographs and a good imagination.
Sometimes, when things get tough or I'm just longing for some sunshine, I think about what my life might have been like if my parents hadn't divorced and my Mum hadn't returned to England. But I guess that would be one question that will always remain unanswered."
End slide - In Memory of a Special Mother.
Sherrie Longton
