Trouble Don’t Last Always ALSO BY FRANCIS RAY I Know Who Holds Tomorrow Somebody’s Knocking at My Door Someone to Love Me Rockin’ Around That Christmas Tree ANTHOLOGIES Rosie’s Curl and Weave Della’s House of Style Welcome to Leo’s Going to the Chapel Gettin Mercy Coming May 2004 Like the First Time From St. Martin’s Griffin Trouble Don’t Last Always FRANCIS RAY ST. MARTIN’S GRIFFIN NEW YORK . Copyright © 2001 by Francis Ray. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of TROUBLE DON’T LAST ALWAYS America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010. www.stmartins.com ISBN 0-312-32163-5 First published in the United States under the title The Turning Point by St. Martin’s Paperbacks First St. Martin’s Griffin Edition: January 2004 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is dedicated to those who walk by faith and to those who are almost there. Hearfelt Thanks and Gratitude First of all, I want to thank God. With Him in my life all things are possible. My gratitude also goes to the following: LaRee Bryant and Angela Washington-Blair, who were with me in the beginning, two years ago, when the idea for this book came to me. I’m blessed to have you as my friends. Bessie Lassiter, who called her son, Wright Lassiter Jr., who called Dr. Michael Harris, ophthalmologist, who answered question after question for over a year with keen insight and patient understanding. Dr. Susan Parks, ophthalmologist/retina specialist, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. A macula hole in my left eye could have meant permanent blindness. You and God deemed otherwise. Thanks also for the encouragement to write this book. Dr. Eugene George, neurosurgeon/head trauma specialist, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Thanks for the medical expertise and the laughs. David Ondick, vocational specialist, and Shelly Smith, caseworker for the Texas Commission for the Blind. Thanks for giving me invaluable insight into the lives of those who view their loss of sight as an inconvenience, not a handicap. Trisha Chandler, supervisor of Orientation and Mobility for the Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind. Thanks for the O & M lessons. Glenda Howard, my editor. Your intuitive instincts are phenomenal. Thanks for helping me turn my dream into reality. As always, to the home team, William and Carolyn Michelle Ray, husband and daughter, my biggest fans and supporters, thanks for not complaining about the house or uncooked meals. You make life meaningful. I love you. Trouble Don’t Last Always