Do you ever wish you could hug somebody in Heaven? 17 years ago today, my mother, Chloye Marie Bonner Hall, departed this earth to get her glorified body with Our Lord and Savoir. I know she and Daddy, both, needed to rest in peace after raising 6 of us kids. But! I also know how excited they are to get new holy, whole bodies ---that they are probably all over the place canvasing Glory Land together! When September 21st rolls around (which used to be first day of autumn), I always think of Autumn Leaves by the Hungarian-French composer, Joseph Misma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prevért, in 1945. I also, however, have to think of Higher Ground by John R. Sweney and Johnson Oatman, Jr., in 1898. You know, I can hear her playing Higher Ground right now. We had a piano in our home. And Mother played ever now and then. But my Mother playing that song in very strict, crisp note distinction and proper time--- in my Grandmother and Granddaddy Bonners parlor-- is what I am hearing right now. The sound acoustics echoed, bouncing the ring of the piano hammers striking piano strings in that parlor reserved for polite mannerly behavior-- and NEVER any type of boisterious horse play. The glass topped antique coffee table, and huge overstuffed scratchy furniture surrounded by porcelain figurines and glass domes clocks demanded our best manners. But I was mesmerised when Mother was seated on that tall bench at the piano-- so I froze in place to listen. Granddaddy played Irish fiddle and loved Higher Ground. I also am thinking that my Grandmothers brother, the Rev. A. H. Childress & wife, with whom my Mother lived for a while to go to school, may have influenced her music to some degree. The Rev. A. H. Childress also performed the ceremony, joining Mother and Daddy in the bonds of holy matrimony, years later in January, 1946. Yes, today is September 21st. The anniversary date of Mother greeting face to face, her Lord. Marie McDougall and I share this solemn yet joyful memory. And, Miriam Coleman Wilmoth, it will not be forgotten, your beautiful voice and your gift to us, singing Higher Ground at Mothers service. Thank you. May the Lord bless you and keep you all. ~~~ Seventeen years today we are still celebrating her New Life in Our Lord.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 18:50:00 +0000