OurWrightSide Weblog

Icy, with daughter Sara, at the old homestead.

“Our moma was so special.” She was good to everyone, no matter what their social status or race.  During an era when racial equality had not yet come to be, she was especially nice to the grocery deliveryman from our local neighborhood store. He was a black man and because of his ethnicity a lot of people were not very kind to him.

Our moma had a heart of gold and was kind to everyone.  When she looked at someone, she just saw another person.  She found out this man’s wife was pregnant and extremely sick, so she went to see what she could do for her.  She watched out for this man’s wife and collected baby clothes for their baby. That man never forgot her kindness.  She was always the first to get her groceries; and if the old panel truck passed us walking to school on a rainy day, he would pick us up for a very welcomed, dry ride to school!

Another time, I recall Moma’s anger at hearing that an ambulance would not pick up a black lady who had fallen and hurt herself on a street close to where we lived.  She was in such a rage over that.  Outraged!

There was a fruit peddler, a black woman, who came around in a cart each week.  When Moma noticed that she loved to wear pretty scarves on her head, she gathered some of our scarves together and gave them to her.  I never saw a bigger smile than the one on that lady’s face that day.

Moma could go out and feed birds in our yard and they would not fly away. They weren’t afraid of her.  They knew a good woman when they saw one. Amazing, strong and wise:  words just cannot “do her justice.” No one had a better mother than we did.

“Yes…. no stronger, better woman than Icy.”