Saturday, August 16, 1997
Former Miss America urges listeners to put
God first
By TANYA EISERER / Abilene Reporter-News
Shirley Cothran Barret's first thought when she was crowned
Miss America in 1975 was that the crown hurt.
"The crown they have has duct tape on the bottom,"
said Barret, who spoke Friday night to the Abilene Woman's Club.
"When they put it on, it sticks to the head."
But Barret said, "It is awesome to be Miss America. ...
For 365 days, I was queen and let me tell you I loved it. I saw
America in the back of a limousine.
"But one Saturday night I had to give it back to someone
else," the Denton native said. "I learned that fame
is fleeting."
What is more important, she said, to have a strong, abiding
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
"I learned a valuable lesson," said Barret, who lives
in Denton with her husband and four children. "The Lord taught
me to put him No. 1 - at the very pinnacle, at the very top -
and everything will fall into place."
"There is hope in the name of the Lord," she said.
"There is hope in knowing that my eternal destiny is secure."
She also told the assembled crowd that she is a "woman
with a reputation."
"In Denton, Texas, I am known for my cooking but not in
the positive sense," she said.
And if she ever builds another house, she said, it will have
a loop driveway with a drive-in window.
Many would think a former Miss America would have been an extroverted,
popular individual in junior high and high school - but not Barret.
"I was very shy, introverted, always a follower,"
she said.
In high school, Barret said she only had about five dates,
and she never went to prom or homecoming.
"(God) was really protecting me," she explained.
"I wasn't emotionally mature enough to handle a boy/girl
relationship. There's no telling what kind of hussy I would have
turned into."
Barret, who went to the University of North Texas, decided
in college that she was going to be somebody.
"I joined every organization that would have me,"
said Barret, who holds a doctoral degree in early childhood education
and family counseling. "I even joined the Math Club."
A group of Jaycees asked her to participate in the Miss Denton
pageant contest. She lost the first two times.
"I know exactly why I didn't win that pageant because
it was Shirley No. 1 all of the time and God No. 2 when it was
convenient," Barret said.
She did win the third time, however, and then she was off to
win the state and then national competitions.
Life has not been without its problems for the former Miss
America.
"I've had some real mountaintop experiences, but I've
also had some real valleys," Barret said.
And the toughest time was taking care of her cancer-ridden
mother the last five months of her life.
"We named the baby inside me that she would never hold,"
Barret said. "I saw her take her last breath on this earth.
That instant is frozen in time for me."
But, she added, "I remember thinking that my momma did
not feel the sting of death. My mother was not defeated by cancer."
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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