Ruth Lavida Burns

Who was she? I never knew. She has always been a stick figure. Just a girl whose face I wear. I spent many years in the search for Ruth Lavida Burns. I wonder who she was, this young girl who was 17 years old when I was born, who died in Baltimore when she was not yet 40. There are nights I run the past like an old ricky ticky movie in my head. So add this January night as another sleepless night to the list. I'm the daughter of Ruth Lavida.