TEXAS, Lubbock (BNc) – Epifania Ortega celebrated her 103rd birthday on April 7, 2020. The congregation where she is a member (the 12th Street Church of Christ in Shallowater) wanted to help her celebrate, but could not have a party because of social-distancing requirements.
Thus in cooperation with her family, they organized a parade! More than 50 cars drove slowly by her house in Lubbock to wish her a happy birthday. They were led by several vehicles of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office with lights flashing.
In an email to the congregation, Kendell Burton, one of the elders, wrote: “We look forward to seeing all of you (at a distance) this afternoon. We’ll call it ‘Distant Socializing’”. Another member, Dale Davison, commented: “It was good to see faces we have not seen in weeks. We appreciated being able to do so even if from a distance.”
It is interesting to note that Epifania was one year old during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 that killed between 50 and 100 million people worldwide. One in six who contracted the disease died and for some reason more young people were killed than older people.
Reaction?