.
I am the second daughter of Eva Mae Smith.
I grew up in a home filled with music !
There was Boots Randolf on sax, the croonings of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra...we listened to Tommy Dorsey and other 'Big Bands'. Tennessee Ernie Ford, Burl Ives. We shared Lawrence Welk - all the variety shows,
when TV was entertainment !
and i'll never forget the live concerts together: ...'the showman', Wayne Newton and the inimitable Roger Whittaker !
and, then, there were the WOMEN in our lives,
whose songs we loved to hear AND sing !
Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand,,Bette Midler and Liza Minnelli !
Besides playing all this music on our stereo console -
Mom sang to each of us !
If she had to change the words in a song to personalize it for us,
she would! Some of my favorite memories are singing duets with her, as she taught me songs from another era.
i was very active in my own kind of music
(whatever was popular at the time)
yet, i treasure the rich heritage she gave,
more than that of my own generation !
As i became acquainted with 'Big Mama' - Mom's mother,
i found that she also loved music and loved to sing.
We have a video of her in her later years,
in ill health and blind from Diabetes -
Still singing and rocking her shoulders to the beat !
So, we have generations of singers and music lovers !
My two sisters sing beautifully, and my niece performs cello, piano and is a music teacher ! Her brother has been in various bands, as well. i have performed all over the country, play guitar and write music and my three beautiful children - (two girls and a boy) - all sing. my son also plays guitar and composes his own songs.
and, now, the Great-Grandchildren will have their turn !
Of all the gifts a mother gives her children - unconditional love, attention, sacrifice - She taught me strength and dignity, tenacity and endurance. Yet, it is the gift of music that has lifted me up in hard times ... Faith has buoyed me, so often expressed in songs i learned at my Mom's knee.
~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~
So, Mom for us on earth, it has been a year sine you crossed over.
I love you, i miss you - i felt it when your breath left your body,
and now that you've gone -
i feel you can hear, what i cannot even say.
Eva Mae Smith, you are a hero, an example
and inspiration to me.
I love you !
Lorna
.