My Portfolio

Cousin Charlie remembered a time when Henry James came in from the field with a loaded  and with the trigger cocked 3? 5?  gaged shotgun on his shoulder.  Charlie took it from him and remarked "that\'s how kids get killed".  Henry, when told of Charlie\'s account, filled in the rest of...

June 6 1991 a preschooler was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up.  She turned to the camera and said "a mommy".  I was both proud and horrified.  Others congratulated me on being a great role model. I feared my child would be another teen pregnancy statistic.16 years later I\'m proud...

Janie Shellman(1994 Smart Family Honoree)On September 22, 1917 twins were born to William Joseph and Ursula Smart Stephens, a happy bouncing baby boy and girl.  These babies were named Janie & Johnnie.  Janie was reported to be the second born.  She became the oldest sister of the 8 surviving sisters and...

Aunt Janie is holding a quilt started by grandmother, completed by Aunt Janie, made possible by Uncle Johnny and given to me who have wonderful and horrible memories about it.Uncle Johnny drove trucks and ever so often he would get a load he  deamed useful to himself or the family.  One...

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? age 10          One day my mother asked me,What do you want to be?  Do you want to be a teacher,Or a singer full of glee? Are you meant to be a writer,Who day dreams all day long? Thinking whether to...

Glasses(2009- age 16)         God works in mysterious ways; I've heard it all my life,But truly, I couldn't see it until I couldn't see, Until the nearest chalkboard was never near enough to read. In second grade my teacher knew there was something wrong with me,  When she came to...

A Child's Finger's (age 15)                A child's fingers grasp my own,Pulling with an energy I know I've never known Slow down for me! I frown, and instantly he settles down, And once again I marvel at how much my brother's grown.                  I remember my first look at him, his...

Patti’s Hot Pepper Salsa Recipe   5 lbs Peppers; hot and sweet r 2 lbs small tomatoes r 1 lb onions r 6 bulbs garlic r 2 shallots r ½ tsp all colors of Peppercorns, ground r 1 cup Vinegar r Pinch Sea salt r   7 1-pint canning jars with...

When C. Stephen Guyer's three children were growing up, he told themstories about how his grandfather, a banker, lost all in the 1930s, butdidn't lose sight of what he valued most. In one of the darkest times,Mr. Guyer says, when his grandfather was nearly broke, he loaded hisfamily into the car...

There is much to be admired in all of my seven sons and three daughters but I think James George is at the top of the list.     After being married for three months, my husband George and I were expecting our first child. Our apartment was in Waltham, Massachusetts....

After taking a once in a lifetime ocean to ocean cross country driving trip in our 2008 Porsche Turbo, we came home and traded it in for this fine machine.It can not corner like a Porsche, but it is very very comfortable!I feel like Hart to Hart in this beauty!

How to Grow Old Gracefully March 9, 2009 It's a fact that we all grow old.  It's also a fact that we have little, if any, control regarding the overall aging process.  Yet, what is positive is the fact that we can control how we live while we age.  We control...

This was recorded during the 2008 Rice University Piano Camp.  During the course of this camp, we determined it was time to take Rachelle to the next level of Piano and soonafter switched her to a professional piano teacher, Khoren Ouzounian.Rachelle did a good job but her hands, arms and shoulders ached...

Normal 0 falsefalse false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} When It’s Time to Take the Keys Away (ARA) - How would you react if you were sitting in...

How many of you have ever encountered a child that seems to find himself in trouble without any trouble at all?  Lucky for her, my daughter was 2-years old when my son was born.  If he had been born first, I'm not sure I would have had any more.  "That sounds...

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The Jock River flows very lazily through Richmond, Ontario, my home town.  It did a poor job of living up to the nickname everyone gave it - "the mighty Jock".  Nevertheless, parents warned children not to stray too close for fear of them falling in.My mother told me never to go...

"In the Living Years"Mike and the MechanicsEvery generationBlames the one beforeAnd all of their frustrationsCome beating on your doorI know that Im a prisonerTo all my father held so dearI know that Im a hostageTo all his hopes and fearsI just wish I could have told him in the living yearsCrumpled...

Home where Charlie Hyatt was born.Charlie Hyatt at left edge, in front of family home where he was born in Hyatt's Mills, taken in 1903.  Back row: Eva Saunders, Mary Saunders (John Saunder's sisters). Aunt Maud, Uncle Harry (Charlie's sister and brother).  Front row: Charlie, Aunt Annie (wife of John Hyatt...

Charlie Hyatt was one of seven children born to Stephen Allan Hyatt and Amelia Caroline Sanders Hyatt who married on August 9th, 1865 in Huntingville Universalist and built their home in Hyatt'’s Mills.  Steven and Amelia's seven children were John W., born January 11, 1868; Allan S., born January 16, 1873;...