The hospital shortly after it was built by the navy in 1948. Photo by Dr. Jim Harris.
A thrilling game had broken out at a neighbor’s house, a family who was lucky enough to have already received their coveted household goods. The lid of the packing crate their furniture had been shipped in was leaning up against the side of the house and children lined up to take turns running up the slanted board and leaping off the top just before slamming into the wall. Lack of organized sports had fostered a certain creativity when it came to entertaining themselves.
Carolyn was in her element, running faster, jumping higher and leading the pack in scoring when her flip-flop got caught on the edge of the board and her trajectory suddenly changed from up to straight down. She hit the ground hard and lay there stunned, pretty sure she had just forfeited her gold medal.
The Samoan Letters 