http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog Just another WordPress weblog Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:39:46 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en When Halloween passed and the stores emptied their shelves of costumes, candy, and caldrons, the fall décor disappeared too. Garlands bearing silk leaves of varying shades of red, green, and gold have been replaced with pine wreathes and bright colored bows. What happened to Thanksgiving I wonder – the holiday ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2008/11/15/what-happened-to-thanksgiving/ With banners lifted high, we marched, united in our cause. Police officers in cars, on horseback, and in the street stopped traffic and shielded us from the danger of inattentive drivers, as we headed up Congress Avenue in view of our State Capitol. I couldn’t help feeling somewhat in control ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2008/10/15/our-brothers-keeper-walking-through-the-storm/ Kelly and I have been celebrating our birthdays with one another for over twenty-seven years, which is half of my lifetime and more than half of hers. We first met while working for the same management company and while there, began the tradition of treating the other to lunch for ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2008/09/16/old-friends/ I remember the first time it happened. It was my birthday and the first telephone call of the day wasn’t from my parents. Though the latter part of August was the end of summer the hot afternoon sun baked the landscape and my own heart was beginning to thirst and ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2008/09/01/forgotten-not-forsaken/ Many have expressed their opposition that Yang Peiyi was only the voice behind a lip-synching stand-in because, according to a member of the Chinese politburo, she was not pretty enough to be seen at the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It was a paradoxical moment for Yang Peiyi ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2008/09/01/bittersweet-blessings/ I am feeling on top of the world! Ok, so it’s only the junk mail world but I am feeling so FREE! I have been imprisoned by junk mail. A pile of it is delivered to my mailbox daily. To protect myself from identity theft or fraud, I must spend ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2008/08/18/liberated/ Many people are voicing outrage over China using a young girl to lip-synch at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, while the real singer, Yang Peiyi a seven-year-old was heard but not seen. Is there a difference between pretending you are really the singer and when an actor pretends ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2008/08/15/confessions-of-lip-synching/ August 11, 2008 It was a mentally grueling day. My oldest daughter called from the cab of an eighteen-wheeler she is sharing with a married man. “We’re not doin’ nuttin’” she screamed when I told her it wasn’t right. She tried to rationalize her actions and then fault me for not ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2008/08/15/a-long-and-winding-road/ 7-11-08 I am visiting out-of-state with my two older sisters. If I could orchestrate the perfect week together the three of us would stay up until the wee hours talking about nothing of importance and everything of importance. We would reminisce about the “remember when” and laugh until tears streamed ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2008/08/15/three-misunderstood-sisters/ “Don’t you want to change your dress before going to McDonald’s?” “No ma’am.” “Aren’t you going to want to play in the balls and climb the playscape?” “I’ll be careful.” Sara and Granddaddy (my husband Steve) left for McDonald’s. Actually I was shocked he suggested they go, he hates the place. What we won’t ... http://belindahowardsmith.com/blog/2008/08/15/the-clock-strikes-twelve-a-continuing-saga/