My own unique “program of life” began on the Bon Secour Plantation in St. James Parish, Louisiana. I grew up as one of seven children born to Beatrice and Willie Carter. My parents were plantation dwellers, who existed at a level less than a sharecropper and barely above slavery.
My biggest obstacle was overcoming being born in former slave quarters of a plantation, a rusted, plank shack on an old dusty road. The Bon Secour Plantation, currently known as St. James Sugar Co-op, was a vast green field flanked by plank shacks on each side of a dirt road and two sprawling mansions beyond the front gates.
But as a child, the place seemed like a magical land with lush green fields, filled with beautiful flowers, all manner of fruit and nut trees, sugar cane, vegetables, and a large pasture in which to play. Fishing was one of my greatest pleasures. My favorite pastime was softball with a makeshift stick and an old rubber ball.
My formative years of education were spent at Cedar Grove Elementary School and Magnolia High School. My most favorite subject was and still is mathematics. By my latter high school years my family had moved to New Orleans, where I attended Booker T. Washington High School and went on to graduate from a private college in San Diego, California.
I spent most of my adult years helping my sisters raise their children and taking care of my mother and other members of my family. As the years went on, my mother and I became as sisters. In the latter years, due to her bought and eventual death from cancer, I watched the roles reverse — she became my child.
Today, I am a retired information systems analyst. My spiritual journey began thirty-five years ago when I asked God to give me wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of the biblical scriptures.
“Worry not about age that comes with the passing of years, better still; try to obtain the wisdom that escapes many of us.” — Mary L. Carter 1986
"THE PROGRAM OF LIFE " 