Shirley Ann Arthur Tice

Shirley Ann Arthur Tice:

Mother: You finished your high school equivalency diploma while I was in high school. What a brave thing to do! I do not know where to begin to show my appreciation for all that you have done. One incident stays in the forefront of my mind: You walked the four of us to the public library one bright day. I was ten years old. As we approached the thick, massive door, you paused, turned to face us and stated, "the library is a special place where people come to read and learn. We must be respectful of them and try to be as quiet as possible." Rising to our tiptoes with curiosity, we carefully walked up the steps as you opened the huge door. WOW! Books! Books everywhere! From the floor to the ceiling! "How much do we have to pay to take the books?" I asked innocently. It was a foreign concept to my young mind that one could simply walk out with books and not pay anything for them! What a privilege. What an honor! Mother, you leaned close to us. Your eyes widened and your arms swept out as you whispered, "Here, children, is the world. You can learn about anything you want to in these books! Books are our friends. We must treat them as friends. With them, the world can be yours!"

As I sat in the Bodlein Library at Oxford University in 1993, the computer flashed a message on the screen: YOU HAVE ACCESS TO ALL OF THE PRINTED MATERIALS IN THE WORLD. PLEASE USE WITH CARE. Your words came back to me: this truly was the world!

I will receive my doctorate from Oxford in October, 1994. Mother, this degree, all of my degrees, are really yours, because you gave me the world so many years ago. You are a true heroine. I am grateful for having had the privilege of growing up with you. Thank you, with all my love.

Love,

Dr. Patricia K. Tice