WALKER: An unexpected 2015 blessing
My favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving, is just around the corner, and I intend to have a column, next week, about some of the many things for which I am thankful. Today, I highlight one of them.
We were in Tunica, Mississippi, early that evening, Jan. 31, 2015, at the Jerry Lee Lewis concert. For some inexplicable reason, someone (I have no idea who) directed us to wait in a largely vacant room, with no windows, adjacent to the stage. So, Janice, Pam and Dink NeSmith and I made our way, as told, to the room with two or three chairs and nothing else except a nice looking, well-dressed couple, about our ages, sitting in two of the chairs, also waiting.
Consistent with our Southern raising, we introduced ourselves and engaged in "small talk" with Eddy and Theresa Smith from Dallas, Texas. I could tell they were nice people. Eddy and I traded business cards. Then, on to the show and "goodbye" to the nice Smiths from Texas. You'd assume forever.
When we got home, and again from some reason that escapes me, I added Eddy Smith to my email weekly column list. Now, for the rest of the story let me share with you an Oct. 22, 2015, letter I got from Eddy. Here it is:
"Sorry it took so long to get these CDs to you as promised. ... May God bring a blessing from each one you hear.
Larry, I've been blessed by every article you have sent me. I don't think it was by chance that our paths crossed last February in Tunica, MS. Our rural roots are so similar that I have cried with joy several times as I've read your stories. ... Please allow me to tell you a little about me:
"I was born in Anniston, AL, May 23, 1947. My dad was a sharecropper in Etowah County when he and mom married. After being drafted into the Marine Corps, he returned to post-war Alabama and got a job in the cotton mill in Anniston. We moved to Glencoe when I was small and I finished HS in 1965. Raised in a Pentecostal environment, I started singing and playing guitar in church when I was seven.
"At age 14, I had my own radio show every Saturday from the show room of the local Ford dealer in Gadsden. That same year, I became a part of the FFA Quartet which was one of the highlights of my life. When I was a junior, I wrote a song, "The Ballad of George C. Wallace." One of my high school teachers sent it to George Wallace's press secretary. The next thing I knew, I was signing the song at Wallace's news conference to announce his candidacy in the 1964 presidential primaries. Then off to Wisconsin we go!! My senior year was a whirlwind of campaigning. It was during these years, 1964-65, that I was asked to open for Jerry Lee Lewis on 4 different shows. With stars in my eyes, I moved to Nashville two weeks after high school. Yes, like countless others, I walked the streets singing and playing for anyone who would listen. Twenty months later, I swallowed my pride and went home and started my education. GOD HAD A DIFFERENT PLAN!!
"I rarely sang or played for the next 20 or so years. In 1989, while assigned to Redstone Arsenal Alabama, I suffered a massive heart attack. The night before surgery, I cried out to God and asked forgiveness for not using the talent He had given me, to sing for Him. I promised if He would walk me through this valley, I would sing His praises as long as I lived. GOD HAD A PLAN!
"Twenty-six years later, I am living proof that God is faithful. The first song I wrote after my surgery is on the ROLL CALL CD. In 1995, I was honored with a Songwriter of the Year Award from the International Country Gospel Music Association for "The Little Country Church Where Daddy Prayed." This was written for dad and the little church where I grew up. My life has not been the same! The story doesn't end here — maybe more later.
"Larry again thanks for touching my heart in such a special way. You have become my new Lewis Gizzard. Keep us in your prayers and may God continue His blessings on you."
What a wonderful letter. What a magnificent voice Eddy Smith has. What a wonderful 2015 blessing, and hopefully more to come in the future. Thanks, Eddy Smith. May God bless you and Theresa.
Larry Walker is a practicing attorney in Perry. He served 32 years in the Georgia General Assembly and presently serves on the University System of Georgia Board of Regents. Email: lwalker@whgmlaw.com.
This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 3:17 PM with the headline "WALKER: An unexpected 2015 blessing ."