Mom

On this day, 95 years ago, my mom, Ina Alline Thornton, later to become Witten, was born in Battiest, Oklahoma, in a small, rustic home in the Oklahoma woods. I didn't know until much later in my life what an inspiration she would be for me. These pictures, in an altar set up by Tom today, show what she was all about, to most. The first one, on the left, I took probably in the mid 90s, Mom at her kitchen space where she worked wonders; the second, the small one in the middle, shows me giving her a Mother's Day flower back then, a representative shot of how she loved her family; the third, at the top right, features her at her race walking best. She walked her way to a Masters Championship in race walking all during her 70s.

Of all my teachers and professors I had through my life and through college, no one prepared me better for being an English teacher than my mom. She read to me, and read to me, and read to me when I was growing up. I didn't realize how much I owed her until she was gone - over ten years now. I still miss her, even though I see her in little subtle messages every day. Happy birthday, Mom.