Mildred Cook Temple

I rented a house from Norman and Mildred Temple, across the street from the one they lived in on Lower Richland Boulevard. They were two of the finest, warmest, kindest, and most well-mannered people I have ever known. The day I left Hopkins for Seattle in July of 1997, Mildred sent me off with homemade pimento cheese sandwiches (hers were the best I've ever had) and a jug of homemade sweet tea. "So you don't forget where you came from," she said.

Today, 23 July 2024, in Greenbank, Washington, I made myself a (far lesser) pimento cheese sandwich and a glass of sweet tea for lunch. I stared out the window and thought fondly of Mildred and Norman Temple as I ate.