I first met Cherese when my family moved onto the 2100 block of W. Saratoga Street in Baltimore in the spring of 1975. I was a month shy of my 13th birthday, and Cherese was just 6, so I never took much notice of her; she just became one of my younger sister's little friends. After I moved out on my own ten years later, I went close to 40 years without seeing Cherese more than once or twice. Then one day, she contacted me to tell me of her mother's passing and to ask if I could play for her memorial service. We spent several hours talking on the phone that night -- and the next night, and the night after that. She visited me to go over the program for her mom's service, and soon after, I visited her. By the time of her mom's service it seemed like we had been together forever, and we've been together every day since!