The Center of our Universe!

Here she is--the sister I adored. Doesn't she look fabulous? She was everything I wasn't: fashionable, slim, articulate, poised, and loads of fun. I remember Mom and I hanging out in her bedroom every afternoon when we got home from school. We wanted to hear every detail about her day. We would giggle while she shared stories about her notorious speech teacher, Enid Hooban and her insufferable husband, Homer. Cindy would have to endure road trips with them as she traveled to speech and debate tournaments.

Cindy's eating habits were very predictable. If she was dieting she ate cottage cheese and orange juice. If she was snacking, she would broil the first ever tortilla chips on a cookie sheet: Taco-flavored Doritos, with grated cheese on top--this was long before there were Mexican restaurants. You couldn't even buy tortillas. Another favorite snack was sunflower seeds. Mom bought them by the BOX! And of course, popcorn. Popped on the stovetop with oil in the bottom of a saucepan, and drizzled with melted butter. There is still nothing that satisfies like Cindy's popcorn.

We had so much fun shopping for her and dressing her. She was a clotheshorse. We were thrifting before it was fashionable. I remember finding a vintage wool pencil skirt that fit Cindy like a glove. Mom discovered a lady named Mrs. Fercho, who lived several blocks from us. We spent hours pouring over pattern books in fabric stores, and would deliver piles of material to Mrs. Fercho. She transformed those stacks of fabric into tailor made dresses within days. It was so exciting going to her house to pick up our new outfits. Guess what she charged? Five dollars a dress! I truly wish she could have lived forever like one of the three Nephites.