Memoirs Of The Sidewalk Philosopher (Volume One)

When I found I was expecting our first child at the age of twenty six, I immediately sat down and began to write a short little poem to announce the origin of our smiling faces.

From this little poem of a few short lines ignited a spark, just a flicker, of something to come. A pleasure, not yet tapped, from an inheritance I did not yet know I had received.

As the years passed, I found I enjoyed putting my thoughts into words, first in rhyming prose, and later, in stories of my life to save for my children.

By the time my children were grown, I had quite a few stories for them. That is when my daughter asked me to put them into book form.

This is how “The Lyrics Of My Heart” became a book, now for sale on Amazon.com.

Who would have thought that my great aunt would leave me a legacy of words, worth more to me than riches.

Our childhood experiences mold us daily as we grow and mature, slowly sculpting us into the adults we become. Positive experiences serve to enrich our souls and give us direction.

On Thanksgiving Day in the year of 1950, I was born. My parents lived in Anderson, South Carolina, but moved after my second birthday, to Pendleton. This wonderful little town was just a few short miles down the road but was almost in a world of its own.

As I grew up among the loving people of my little town, I learned the true meaning of family and friendship. It was my good fortune to literally be raised by a village, a village of people whom I will remember and treasure for the rest of my life.

“A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every passerby leaves a mark.” ~ Chinese proverb

During my childhood, I valued the seniors in my life. My grandmother lived with us in our family home until her death when I was fourteen. Her sister, my great aunt, was a very special person in my life as well, from whence I inherited my “gift of gab.”

I feel it is important for young people to get to know their extended family members. The older members of the family have a wealth of life’s memories within their grasp and are always willing to share this life with the children around them.

Pay careful attention because there is so much pleasure and knowledge in store for every child willing to simply soak it up, coupled with the love these seniors so readily give to each and every little one. 

The children in my life have also given me a wonderful look at the world they live in through their personal insight.

Children see the world with innocence lost to us once we cross the threshold into adulthood. But, if we listen, they will transport us back to the wonder and excitement of the things we no longer notice.

And in doing so, you will find yourself laughing over and over at their expressions of observation set to the lyrics of a child.

Unfortunately, our world of adults can sometimes spoil childhood for these little ones. Sometimes, it is in malice, but more often than not, it comes on the wings of our shadowed desire to do good. We expect them to see things as we do when, in actuality, they only see them through innocent eyes, if allowed to hold onto their innocence.

We hear the story of Christmas, as adults, and think how terrible it must have been for Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus to be in such a place as a stable when experiencing Jesus' birth. However, as a child, I thought it magically wonderful.

As I looked back on my life while watching my own children around me, I was able to better evaluate from where I had come and where I was going. It was easier to put into prospective what was most important within the realm of what I had learned so far.

I also looked back at some of the people who had passed through my life. They, too, no matter how fleeting my experience with them, had aided in molding my observations of life as I see it today.

Please continue along with me to volume two as I began a new life at thirty-seven. My children and I become a blended family, complete with a new marriage and two wonderful teenagers. Life is a journey and I have wandered far from my little town in my travels.