New Beginnings

     As I write this blog, I am remembering my mom. I remember her everyday, but some days more than others.  For some of you who will read this, she was a sister, friend, second mother or just a very special person.  My mom was born in Keystone, West Virginia, a small mining town in McDowell county. She was the oldest daughter of Joe and Clara Thornton.  She was the second oldest of a family of 13.  She was married 52 years to her childhood sweetheart Charles "Pete" Smith.  She had two daughters, Sharon and myself.  She was at times a stay-at-home mom, and worked only when my dad was out of work. She was also a neighborhood mom.  Kids were always at our house playing and she did her best to make them feel welcome. There were our adopted siblings, Sam and Mamie. They were at our house from the time they could walk over there. They were neighbors. One of my cousins thought that Mamie lived with us.       He...

     A lot of us growing up watched "The Wizard of Oz" on TV. It used to come on on a Sunday night in January. This meant getting everything done, homework, any household chore, bath and getting your PJ's on so you could watch it and then go to bed when the program was over.  I think my earliest rememberance of the movie was at the age of 6.   I liked the "we're off to see the wizard" song, I remember skipping from the living room to my bedroom I shared with Sharon which at the time was the middle bedroom.  Every since then there are certain characters that stick out in my mind as I relate them to people in my life.  People like the farm hands and later the Scarecrow and the Tin Man reminded me of classmates, not that they looked like anybody, just that the had characteristics of people I know. I hate to say this but theWicked Witch of the West reminds me of my second grade teacher. Many people liked her and I am sure she was a good teacher, ...