Eddy Arnold died yesterday. I think he was known as "The Tennessee Plowboy" The reason I mention him is that he was special when I was growing up. He was special to me because he was special to my mom. He was her favorite singer. Every time he sang on the radio, mom would sing along with him. She knew every song he ever sang. I figured since he died and Mother's Day is coming up, I'd tell you a little about my mom. I came along a little late in her life. She was 36 or 37 years old. I was bad enough, but 16 months later Vickie showed up. Sara had been around 10 years before I showed up. My Mom. How do you describe her? Well, she was short, 5'4". A little on the heavy side. Maybe 150 pounds. Medium brown hair that she later refused to go gray. Her personality was as her nickname, "Shine" given to her by my dad who said she was like a ray of sunshine to him. She was a hard worker, helping my dad when he opened his own grocery a couple of months before I was born. She was a Christian lady who made her children go to church whether they wanted to or not. She had good bribes for us to be good in church. A peppermint ice cream cone did the trick most of the time. She did great covers on a cold winter's night. 2 or 3 quilts or blankets went on our beds and she tucked us in tight. Her hugs were the greatest! And there were a lot of them. She was proud of us. Most of the time and the times she wasn't, she was forgiving. But, SHE WAS THE LAW. My dad made sure we all knew that. He'd tell us if we got along with Mom, we'd get along with him. She dealt out the punishment, whether with a switch off a tree or a paddle from a flyback toy. She was active in her Sunday school class, bridge clubs, ceramics, and Bingo. She loved her lawn and flowers. As you know, she loved irises, but made great roses too. She was quite a woman and I could go on and on, but let me tell you the best about her. She WAS love. She died 9 years ago and I still miss her. I miss her smile, her drive, her laugh, her cooking, but most of all I miss her love. If anyone gets to heaven, tell her Hi for me.
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