Norma Thompson followed her husband to the United States from Panama and when the marriage failed a few years later, she was working odd jobs to support herself and her pre-school daughter when fate, destiny or something stepped in and changed her life.
âMy then-husband played baseball, and he got the chance to play in the minor leagues in Boston,â Thompson, now a Killeen resident, said. âBy then we had a child, so me and the child came to the U.S. in 1975.
âUnfortunately, that relationship didnât work. The values in this country are so different than at home â the loose values, I call them â and there was a divorce (1978). I didnât want to go back home; I saw bigger things here. An opportunity for me to take care of me. My family back home is very close, and somebody always thinks they need to help you. Do this for you; do that for you. I didnât want that. I wanted to stay here.