What Really Matters, According to Me

Since 2003, when I moved away from Harwood, Texas, I've been back to visit family only a few times each year. The reasons for my leaving my childhood hometown were sound and I have no regrets, and though six years away have brought me back only a dozen times or so, I have visited Harwood more times in the passed two weeks than I have in the passed two years. The road between my house and Grandma's house is long, winding and rough. It passes through two small Texas towns with miles of two-lane old Texas roadway in between. Over hills, around curves, passed cattle, horses and chicken farms; it takes about an hour to get to Grandma's house. It is such a chore to get all of the kids ready to go; snacks, diapers and wipes, a movie to watch on the way, a bottle for the baby, and don't forget the football and air-soft guns... it is a long road between here and Grandma's house, and when we get there, we all need something to do after the first few minutes of visiting in the...

How I Love Her by SRW As the tired sun falls down Long shadows lace the ground And I wander to a time long passed away... Dim evenings years since passed Since my youth, long gone alas! ‘Twas a time my mother kissed all fear away. Do I still see her dear face there In the shadows near the chair Where she held me close to sing me fast asleep? Her quiet melody; A special song she sang for me In a tone so low, and slow and ever sweet... Now time has long since flown. Here am I alone Only pondering the joy of long ago When shadows held no fear For me, with Mother near. How I loved her, and I wonder... did she know? October 22, 1987 revised 11 October 1999 I sang to my mother as she lay upon her death bed. It was a tender, sweet and spiritual experience for me. How grateful I am for those moments beside her bed to say good-bye. Many of my written works, through the years have been inspired by my mother. Mom's great work in this life was family history. Keys to the Gate by srw 30 Dec 19...

Aurale (Lee) Huff 21 October 1927 – 9 January 2010 Aurale (Lee) Huff of Harwood, TX, passed away early Saturday morning at Seton Medical Center-Hays, in Kyle. Services were held at the Harwood Cemetery, Sunday, January 10, 2010. She was born in Harwood to Walter and Iva Huff and was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, Walter Huff, Jr. and Wayne Huff; her sister, Martha Lewis; a son, John Holbrook; a daughter, Melinda Antuna, two granddaughters, Heather Windham and Carrie Antuna, and great-granddaughter, Kindra Albert. Being mechanically inclined, at the age of 25, Lee rebuilt a Hillman-Minx automobile engine with no help other than instruction from her father, who had built airplanes in Harwood while she was a small child. Lee learned her trade in the family newspaper business and, known as a “tramp printer,” travelled across the United States working in newspapers in Houston TX, San Francisco CA, Cincinnati OH, Detroit MI, Modesto CA, and San Antonio TX, where...